Steelers preparing for ways to handle former Penn Hills, Pitt star Aaron Donald

When he lines up behind center, surveys the defense and sees Aaron Donald glaring menacingly back at him on Sunday afternoon, Kenny Pickett won’t be as awestruck as the first time he encountered one of the NFL’s most decorated defensive linemen.

That came in 2017 after Pickett had graduated high school early and enrolled at Pitt so he could take part in spring drills. Donald, at the time a three-time Pro Bowl selection, was back on campus after leaving Pitt as the No. 13 overall pick in 2014.

Donald would go on to win the first of his three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards that fall.

“From afar, I would just watch and not really talk,” Pickett said Wednesday. “It was just hellos until I earned his respect to be able to talk to him a little bit more.”

As their careers developed — with Pickett becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist as a senior and a first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022 and Donald piling up individual honors with the Rams — a relationship followed. Donald continues to spend his offseasons working out on the South Side and spending time with the Pitt football program.

“He showed me the way, how to train, how to work,” Pickett said. “There is a reason he is who he is. He works hard, showed me the ropes, showed me the way by how he works out at Pitt. I’m grateful for the experience I had with him.”

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Pickett and Donald will meet on a football field for the first time Sunday when the Steelers visit the Rams at SoFi Stadium. It will be just the third time Donald has faced the Steelers, and the Penn Hills graduate is searching for his first victory against his hometown team.

Donald hasn’t compiled sack numbers this fall like he has in recent seasons — he has reached double digits six times, including a career-best 20 1/2 in 2018 — yet he has shown few signs of slowing down for the 3-3 Rams.

Coming off a season in which he missed the final six games because of an ankle injury, the 32-year-old has 2 1/2 sacks, eight quarterback hits and 22 hurries through six weeks. In his most recent performance, a 26-9 victory against Arizona, Donald had two quarterback hits and five hurries.

“We better do a good job of minimizing any additions to that resume in that stadium this weekend,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “And, obviously, you work your tail off to minimize his impact on the game.”

The Steelers didn’t allow several of the NFL’s other top pass rushers — Nick Bosa, Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby — to cause havoc in the backfield. Donald, though, attacks from the interior and not the edge, a changeup for the Steelers offensive line.

“He presents a lot of challenges,” left guard Isaac Seumalo said. “He’s not only physically extremely gifted, but he plays with a high football IQ. He knows formations and where the back is (in protection). He’s been one of the best, if not the best, for a long time.”

Seumalo spent his first eight seasons playing in the NFC, so he has familiarity facing Donald. That also is true for center Mason Cole and right guard James Daniels. For his first three years when he played for Arizona, Cole saw Donald play twice a season.

“Guys like him, they are built like pitbulls,” Cole said of Donald’s 6-foot-1, 280-pound frame. “They are all solid muscle. They are just different, freak athletes.”

Cole also lauded Donald’s mental capacity for detecting plays before they happen.

“You watch him before a play, and he’s seeing everything, he’s watching everything,” he said. “He knows how teams are going to play him schematically, and he’s got a good feel for the game and how teams attack him.”

And yet NFL teams still haven’t universally figured out a way to contain Donald. Age hasn’t taken its toll, either.

“It’s clear as day on tape,” Pickett said. “He has not lost a step going by how successful he’s been this season and what he’s doing to teams. We’ll manage him the best we can.”

The Steelers could try to provide Pickett with some extra protection. Some of that responsibility could fall on running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.

“I don’t want to say what we’re going to do, but yes,” Harris said when asked about giving extra attention to Donald. “Is he still the guy? Of course, Aaron Donald is a generational talent.”