Aaron Donald's nephew emerging as top high school football prospect

By Jordan Divens Sep 5, 2019, 11:00am

Two-time reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year isn't the only football talent in the family.

Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) junior Elliot Donald regularly works out with his uncle, the reigning two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald.

The hard work is paying off.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive tackle is regarded as a Top 100 player in the Class of 2021 by 247Sports after bursting on to the scene as a sophomore.

Donald recorded 14 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and forced a pair of fumbles for the 7-4 Vikings last fall.

Video: Elliot Donald highlights
Will he follow in uncle's footsteps at Pitt?



"I didn't think I was going to do as well as I did last year," Donald told Mike White of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Just him helping me with my footwork, getting my handwork together and helping me with my explosiveness was so big."

Donald recently announced a top eight of LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Texas A&M and West Virginia.

Uncle Aaron will get his season started with the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at Carolina. En route to Defensive POY honors a year ago, he piled up 59 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.