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Pittsburgh Panthers defensive tackle Aaron Donald has not yet decided if he will forgo his final year of eligibility to declare for the NFL Draft, but he has filed paperwork to see what his status will be. Donald downplayed the filing of his paperwork, affirming that as of now, his current plans are to stay with the Panthers:
"I sent it in just to see where I was standing right now," he said. "Nothing major. From where I stand right now, I will be a Pitt Panther."
One draft expert, Kevin Wiedl of ESPN, believes that if Donald declares now, he could be selected between the third and fifth rounds. Having thought that thought, Wiedl believes that Donald would benefit with an additional year in college:
"He has to overcome his lack of size (6-foot, 275 pounds), but he has always been an upfield penetrator," he said. "I was very impressed with what he did in the Rutgers game (three tackles for a loss). I thought he turned it on well.
Donald recorded a Big East conference best 18.5 tackles for loss in 2012, sixth best in the country. One of the things that Wiedl believes helps Donald out is the fact that he has good pass rushing ability. Donald has been taking more chances with what he calls the 'quick swim' technique, which is not taught by Panther coaches, which can be a good thing or a bad thing:
"Sometimes I get yelled at for doing it when I don‘t (make the tackle), but when I get it, coaches are happy,"