Penn State's James Franklin Thinks Aaron Donald's Success Has Hurt College Football

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Aaron Donald is one of the greatest defensive linemen to ever play the game. The man is a freak athlete, especially when you consider he's just 6-foot-1 making it look way too easy against offensive linemen who both tower over and outweigh him. Despite Donald's greatness, James Franklin believes he's actually hurt college football.

READ: JAMES FRANKLIN HELPS PENN STATE OFFENSIVE LINEMAN BREAK FUNDRAISING RECORD AS RISING INFLATION CRUSHES FOOD BANKS

Donald has been out of the college game since being selected 13th overall out of Pittsburgh in the 2014 NFL Draft. Nevertheless, Donald is impacting the college game and making the Penn State head coach's life harder.

“I’m a huge Aaron Donald fan, but Aaron Donald has hurt college football and defensive tackles, in my opinion, because every single one of these kids think they’re Aaron Donald," Franklin said.

"‘Well, I’m going to lose weight, and I’m going to be more athletic.’" Well, there’s been one Aaron Donald in 50 years at his size to be as disruptive as he is and as strong and as quick and as explosive. The problem is, everyone thinks they’re the exception."

“And the reality is there’s been a lot more 300-pound defensive tackles that have had great NFL and college careers than there’s been the 275-, 285-pound D-tackles.”

Franklin's comments certainly ring true, Donald is the literal definition of an 'exception' in the NFL. If a kid wants to be a starting defensive tackle in the league then being north of 300 pounds makes life a bit easier.

Franklin is clearly after some big-time big uglies on the interior of his defensive line at Penn State, unless of course, they can get to the quarterback like Donald, which is unlikely given that he's undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind player.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.