Andrew Donnal – OT Iowa — 4th rd pick

Nick Wagoner ‏@nwagoner 6m6 minutes ago
OL Andrew Donnal clearly fired up about being drafted. Describes himself as you’d expect: “mauler.” Says he “likes kicking ass.”

Brugler on Donnal:

14. ANDREW DONNAL | Iowa
2010: Redshirted 2011: (4/0)
6057|313 lbs|5SR Monclova, Ohio (Anthony Wayne HS) 3/3/1992 (age 23) #78
GRADE 5th-6th Round

MEASUREABLES Arm: 33 1/2 | Hand: 10 | Wingspan: 80 5/8

COMBINE 40-YD: 5.31 | 10-YD: 1.92 | 20-YD: 3.14 | BP: 17 | VJ: 32 | BJ: 08’05” | SS: 4.77 | 3C: 7.84 PRO DAY BP: 23 | 3C: 7.48

PRONUNCIATION duh-NELL

2012: (7/3) 2013: (12/0) 2014: (13/13) Total (36/16)
3 RG 13 RT
13 RT, 3 RG

BACKGROUND: A four-star offensive tackle recruit out of high school, Andrew Donnal narrowed his college choice to Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland, Virginia and Iowa, committing the Hawkeyes and redshirting in 2010. He saw limited snaps as a redshirt freshman in 2011 and filled in as a starter at right guard for three games in 2012 before suffering a season-ending injury. Donnal was a versatile back-up in 2013 as a junior, but didn’t start any games. He took over the right tackle duties as a senior and started all 13 games in 2014, earning All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors.

STRENGTHS: Desired height with workable arm length and hand size…adequate athlete and set-up quickness…prefers to use his hands to drive block, keeping his grip inside defenders and shuffling his lower body…fundamentally sound and well-coached…uses his length well to initiate the action and seal the edge any way he can…always looking for someone to block with alert, active eyes…doesn’t make mental mistakes, staying focused from snap-to-snap…impressive tenacity through the whistle, displaying the finishing toughness to eliminate his man – often powers defenders to the ground like a wrestler…buys into coaching and works hard to hone his craft…team-first attitude and waited his turn to be the starter.

WEAKNESSES: Leaner-than-ideal and lacks ideal body girth…narrow base and upright off the snap, making leverage an issue…can be bullied on his heels and lacks the anchor to absorb bull rushers…forces his momentum out of his stance, making him susceptible to inside moves, struggling to recover in time…engages well, but needs to redirect his target and do a better job with angles…needs to load more ammo into his punch to shock defenders, especially at the second level…hesitant and needs to speed up his decision-making…impatient on the edges and finds himself hunched over at the waist…only one season of true starting experience (16 career starts)…some durability concerns, suffering an ACL injury (Oct. 2012) that ended his sophomore season and bothered him throughout his junior year.

SUMMARY: Brandon Scherff and Donnal both arrived at Iowa as part of the 2010 Hawkeyes recruiting class, which was also the last year the school produced two offensive tackle picks in the same NFL Draft (Bryan Bulaga, Kyle Calloway). Scherff and Donnal both suffered serious injuries in 2012, but Scherff rebounded quickly and became an All-American. Donnal wasn’t as fortunate, but finally got his chance to be the starter in 2014 and started every game at right tackle, limiting mistakes and showing consistent improvement. He has good initial quickness, but struggles to keep that same lateral momentum in his kickslide to cut off speed, forcing him to lunge and overextend at the waist. Donnal shows very little semblance of a punch, but takes pride in his technique and has the work ethic and attitude that makes him compatible with NFL coaches – late round developmental option.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by canadaram.

Prototypical Coach Boo OG. Converted OT who may simply be missing a little bit of speed to battle edge rushers, but has that nasty, has technique, is versatile and coachable.

Very hard not to really like this pick and, frankly, all of the OL picks.

Brandon Scherff and Andrew Donnal were part of the same recruiting class at #Iowa. Donnal waited his turn to start and impressed in 2014

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) May 2, 2015

Andrew Donnal no longer the ‘other’ Iowa offensive lineman

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/18341/andrew-donnal-no-longer-the-other-iowa-offensive-lineman

EARTH CITY, Mo. — In search of help for their offensive line in the 2015 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams made no shortage of trips to the University of Iowa.

There in Iowa City, the Rams and the other 31 NFL teams found the top offensive line prospect in this year’s draft in the form of Brandon Scherff. Scherff was the Hawkeyes’ dominant left tackle, pushing defenders around in the run game and keeping his quarterbacks clean in pass protection.

But in Scherff’s final season at Iowa in 2014, he wasn’t the only Hawkeye that began to draw attention. On the right side of the line was Andrew Donnal, a 6-foot-6, 313-pounder cut from a similar cloth as Scherff.

“Obviously when the scouts go in, you’re going to evaluate the draft-eligible players,” Rams general manager Les Snead said. “So he was going to get evaluated one way or the other. But last year he played guard. This year they moved him out to right tackle. Did some left tackle a couple times when Scherff went out, he got banged a couple times, so versatile. So you just knew his versatility and then through the combine process tested relatively well for a tall, big man.”

By the time the draft arrived, the Rams had Scherff pegged as the top lineman available but so, too, did the rest of the league. The Washington Redskins ended up using the fifth overall pick on Scherff well before the Rams drafted at No. 10 overall. Not that his presence would have made much difference given the team’s interest in running back Todd Gurley.

After drafting Gurley in the first round, the Rams devoted much of the rest of the draft, especially the next three rounds, on offensive lineman. When the third day started, they had already added potential starters in tackle Rob Havenstein and guard Jamon Brown but Donnal proved too enticing to pass up after playing both tackle and both guard spots at various points in his career.

Donnal said he didn’t spend much time watching the draft early on other than to see where his teammate would land. It was on Day 3 when Donnal knew his time might come.

“I watched for Brandon the first day,” Donnal said. “I was really looking forward to watching him get drafted. I knew he was going to go high. It was great to see him on TV and get the recognition he deserves. Yesterday, I watched it here and there. I didn’t really make a huge deal of it. Just kind of watch to see what happens and hung out with family and friends, but today we stayed pretty glued to the TV.”

Upon arrival in St. Louis, Donnal isn’t likely to be asked to hop into the starting lineup right away. Considering the other pieces added to the line, he’s more likely to serve in a utility role where he can backup just about anyone. As you’d expect from an offensive lineman from Iowa, it’s a role that suits Donnal just fine.

“I view myself as a blue-collar grinder,” Donnal said. “I’m a guy that’s going to come out and work my [rear] off everyday be the best that I can possibly be. I thoroughly enjoy just playing football, being an offensive lineman and moving the guy from point A to point B against his will. Protecting the quarterback and mauling inside — there’s nothing better.”

Donnal views his time and the constant comparisons to Scherff as a good thing for his career, pointing out that the constant comparisons helped drive him to succeed. Now that both are in the NFL, it’s s clean slate for all parties, who have to prove themselves all over again. The Rams and Redskins are scheduled to meet in Week 2.

“Really it’s not about when you get on a team or how you get on a team,” Donnal said. “It’s what you do when you get there. We’re basically both starting over fresh. It’s a completely different experience for the both of us, and I know we’re both going to work as hard as we possibly can to play the best football that we can for our organizations.”

Current Iowa Hawkeye Head Coach Kirk Ferentz joined Kevin Wheeler to talk about Andrew Donnal, what he saw from him in his college career, why he thinks it can translate to the NFL, and why he thinks Iowa DT Louis Trinca-Pasat can make the Rams practice squad.