Rams' Aaron Donald off to hometown to face Steelers
PITTSBURGH - The entryway at the gleaming facility features frosted glass doors beneath stylized lettering.
"AARON DONALD FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE CENTER" is spelled out in capital letters, flanked by a photo of its namesake. A plaque that reads "Hard Work Pays Off" accents an image of the Rams star defensive tackle, a proud product of the city and a university that keeps calling him home.
Donald, a two-time NFL defensive player of the year, signed a $135 million contract extension before last season. Eight months later, the University of Pittsburgh announced Donald had made a "seven-figure financial commitment" to the football program, the largest donation in school history by a former player.
Now his name adorns the ground floor on the Pitt side of a facility it shares with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Donald, 28, still comes here often, to train in the weight room or neighboring indoor practice facility, to say hello to Pitt athletics administrators and staff, and to continue humbly building on an NFL career that appears likely to end with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"His name's on the building," Dave Andrews, Pitt's strength and conditioning coach, says in his weight room office, "and he's asking for permission to work out."
