Elliot, Aaron Donald Give Back by Coaching at 2Tenths Camp

The Penn Hills alum worked closely with the defensive line prospects at Sunday’s camp and for players like Plum rising senior Darian Slaughter, it was a chance to work with someone who was once in his position as a WPIAL recruit hoping to play at the next level.

“It means a lot,” Slaughter said about being coached by Donald. “He’s giving back to the community. He is the hometown hero and it’s a blessing. We all aspire to be him one day.”

With every rep, Donald was finding ways to improve each kids’ game.

“Just to be here and get to talk to them and give them a little bit of knowledge and tips I can help them with just from watching them. Just trying to find ways to help them get better and get them to a point they trying to get to,” Donald said.

Players like Slaughter did not take anything for granted as he absorbed as much knowledge as possible.

“You’re getting coached by the best defensive player to probably play in the National Football League and you learn a lot of stuff. You take what you can get from him and you you move forward with it. There’s different moves he worked on that he’s seen in the NFL and he’s trying to give it back to us,” Slaughter said.

Along with Aaron Donald coaching up the Western Pa. talent, his nephew Elliot, a redshirt junior for the Pitt Panthers, was right next to his uncle all day long working with the d-line athletes.

“I watched this kid grow up. I used to change his pampers, so to see his growth and see the knowledge he got for the game now and being able to work with me and help these kids get better,” Aaron said.

While Elliot continues to prepare for another season with Pitt, he also spends time training with his own organization, E.Donald DLine Training. Aliquippa defensive lineman Justus Starks works with Elliot and got another chance to do so against some of the top WPIAL talent on Sunday.

“Learning from Elliot was great. I go to his training sessions, so I know what he expects from me because he helps me perfect my craft from his experience, so it’s definitely always a pleasure learning from guys that are where I want to be in life,” Starks said.

Similar to Slaughter, Starks was all ears when it came to advice from Aaron and Elliot.

“After every session, I always ask what did you see today that I can improve on and not what I did good. It’s the small things like reading pad level and selling a move more or counter to it but always just trying to be a student of the game and listen from my peers,” Starks said.

A 6-foot 2026 prospect with an offer from Saint Francis (Pa.), Starks earned co-defensive MVP for the underclassmen on Sunday.

“It meant a lot to win DL MVP. It just shows me what I put into my work and that I can do it even though I’m not the biggest lineman compared to some guys,” he said.

Sharing the co-defensive MVP award was Imani Christian Academy’s Will Gorman, who impressed at the camp.

“It’s a motivator for me to keep working harder and keep grinding to get more offers and just get better as a player,” Gorman said about receiving the award.

Gorman, a 6-foot-3 edge with five Division I offers, also took away as much as possible from working with the Donalds.

“I learned a lot from both of them. After every rep, they pulled me aside and taught me some things I’ve never known before. I’m trying to work on my hand movement and moving a little bit more fluid and they taught me a lot about that handwork piece,” Gorman said.

With Aaron Donald officially retired from the NFL, he certainly will play a prominent role in high school and youth football in the Pittsburgh area for years to come with his support of 2Tenths and his AD99 Solutions Foundation that puts on the ‘Living in the Pocket Skills Camp’ that provides a free camp for vulnerable youth in the area.