ESPN College GameDay announces Aaron Donald as guest picker for Notre Dame at Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh alum Aaron Donald will be the celebrity guest picker on ESPN College GameDay this week. The beloved pregame show is traveling to Pittsburgh for the Panthers’ showdown against No. 9 Notre Dame. Donald played for Pittsburgh from 2010-13.

In his senior season at Pittsburgh, Donald tallied 59 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and four forced fumbles. For his efforts, he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American.

The Rams—based in St. Louis at the time—selected Donald with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Donald only ramped up his production at the next level.

Donald played 10 seasons for the Rams and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year a record-breaking three times. Additionally, he was selected to the Pro Bowl in all 10 of his seasons and named a First-Team All-Pro eight times.

In 2022, Donald’s efforts culminated in the Rams winning Super Bowl LVI. Donald retired after the end of the 2023 campaign and is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive players of all time.

Donald not only attended Pittsburgh, but grew up in the city. Donald attended Penn Hills High School, which is only 14 miles away from Pittsburgh’s home venue, Acrisure Stadium.

Aaron Donald is only the latest former NFL player to appear as a guest picker on ESPN College GameDay. When the crew visited Texas Tech last week, Red Raiders legend Patrick Mahomes served as the guest picker.

In the prior week, former NFL QB Alex Smith was the guest picker at his alma mater, Utah. Texas Tech ran away with a 29-7 victory with Mahomes in the building last week. Donald can only hope he provides the Panthers with similar luck.

After beginning the season with a 2-2 record, Pittsburgh has rattled off five consecutive wins. Now, the Panthers will face their greatest test yet with a showdown against the Fighting Irish.

Both teams are entering the game with two losses. Whichever team loses will likely be eliminated from College Football Playoff contention. The Panthers have never appeared in the CFP in program history.

On Saturday, Pittsburgh will look to take another step toward making history as it squares off against Notre Dame at noon ET. The game will air live on ABC.