Earlier today, Aaron Donald received what could be the first of a few All-American honors. It's not a major honor, but for what it's worth, Donald was named to the FoxSportsNext.com / Scout All-American second team.
Donald had an incredible year and I've really been surprised that I'd not seen his name popping up on projections for All-American teams since I'd been looking.
Just what kind of year did he have?
He had ten sacks on the season and was only the fifth Pitt player to do that in the past 20 years. To do that in a 3-4 with only three linemen is pretty amazing, to be honest. Donald also had 11 hurries and 15 tackles for loss this year.
Still, even though he was a second-team All-American, he couldn't crack the Big East's first team (all while finishing second in the conference in sacks) - a testament to how random these lists can be.
And the scary news? He was only a sophomore this season. Look for his name to show up on some preseason All-American lists next year.