Tributes Pour In for Aaron Donald During Pitt Panthers’ Jersey Retirement Ceremony Aaron Donald saw his No. 97 rise to the rafters as Pitt legends and fans celebrated one of college football's most do

There’s a certain poetry to Aaron Donald returning to Pittsburgh on a Saturday when the Panthers needed him most. No. 22 Pitt hosted No. 9 Notre Dame in a ranked matchup. And the university chose halftime to immortalize Donald’s No. 97 jersey alongside the program’s most legendary names, such as Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Mike Ditka, and now, the kid from Penn Hills who rewrote what it means to dominate from the defensive tackle position.

Donald served as ESPN College GameDay’s celebrity guest picker that morning. He threw out a playful dig at Notre Dame while reminiscing about Pitt’s 2013 win over the Irish, and then watched his number get hung in the rafters at Acrisure Stadium. For a guy who grew up 14 miles from campus and dreamed of wearing that blue and gold, it doesn’t get much bett