In 2013, Aaron Donald's final season at Pittsburgh, he had an FBS-high 28.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and 4 forced fumbles from his defensive tackle position. He entered the NFL draft as the most decorated and dominant defensive player in the country, but there remained doubts about his ability to translate that production to the NFL due to his size (he's now 6-foot-1, 285 pounds).
Donald dropped to the 13th overall pick in the first round, when the St. Louis Rams took him. Once in the NFL, the competition improved, but Donald's production did not decline. He had 17 tackles for loss -- the most by a rookie defensive lineman in league history -- en route to being named defensive rookie of the year.
Who is this year's Aaron Donald? Is there a highly productive college player who has the tools to translate his successful college numbers to the NFL?
Below is our "all-stats team" of under-the-radar prospects who were able to dominate the college game from a statistical standpoint. In order to find the hidden gems, the three Heisman finalists -- Marcus Mariota, Melvin Gordon and Amari Cooper, all of whom had some of the most prolific seasons statistically in college football history -- were left off the list, as well as any prospect projected to be a top-10 pick.