Mark Joseph Donahue (born January 28, 1956) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

as an

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Wolverines from 1975 to 1977. He was a consensus All-American in both 1976 and 1977. Donahue also played two seasons of professional football in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

in 1978 and 1979.

Early years

A native of

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a Village (Illinois), village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It ...

, Donahue attended Brother Rice High School in the

Chicago Catholic League The Chicago Catholic League (CCL) is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. All of the schools are part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports. While some o ...

, graduating in 1974.

University of Michigan

Donahue accepted a football scholarship to the

and played college football for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

team from 1975 to 1977. He was a starter on Michigan's 1975 and 1976 offensive lines that produced two games in which Michigan had three running backs each accumulated 100 rushing yards. Donahue was selected as a consensus first-team offensive guard on both the

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and

1977 College Football All-America Team The 1977 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1977. The National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

s. He was the 13th player in Michigan football history to be twice honored as a consensus All-American and was rated by

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...

as "one of his all-time best linemen."

Professional football

Donahue was selected in the 11th round of the

1978 NFL Draft The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hote ...

by the

. He played offensive guard for the Bengals in 1978 and 1979. Donahue later recalled: "It was fun playing a couple of years with the Bengals. It was a great experience lining up against legends like Randy White of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and Joe Greene and the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. The first time you're in a stance against them, you're almost too excited to hit them. You get over that real quick when you realize there is no hesitancy at all on their part on hitting you hard."

Later years and honors

In May 2011, Donahue was inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Fame. In September 2012, he was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame. In September 2016, Donahue was inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor. Donahue was named the president of his alma mater Brother Rice High School in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donahue, Mark 1956 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards Cincinnati Bengals players Michigan Wolverines football players People from Evergreen Park, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois