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Delaware: Rick Donalley

Rick Donnalley helped paved the way for some outstanding Tar Heels' ground games during a crucial time in  UNC's history.
Rick Donnalley helped paved the way for some outstanding Tar Heels' ground games during a crucial time in UNC's history.

The era in which Rick Donalley played football at North Carolina is one of the most important in the program’s history.

The transition from Bill Dooley to Dick Crum went well and led to the program’s second of three periods in which it finished in the top 10 of the national rankings in consecutive seasons. Dooley brought smash mouth football to Chapel Hill, and by the time he left following the 1977 season, that had become Carolina’s identity on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Crum kept that going in part because he inherited an outstanding situation along the offensive line and a talented collection of running backs. “Famous” Amos Lawrence was in the midst of becoming just the second player to ever run for 1,000 or more yards in each of his four seasons and leading the way was a unit up front that took pride in opening holes for Lawrence and UNC’s other backs.

One of the leaders of that group was center Rick Donnalley.

“Coach Bill Dooley was successful in recruiting the best athletes from Virginia and North Carolina,” Donnalley said. “His conservative offensive style was sometimes criticized as ‘three yards and a cloud of dust but we could always move the sticks. Every now and then Famous Amos or Kelvin (Bryant) would break free and it was glorious”

Donalley was from Wilmington, DE, and in his career as a Tar Heel earned first-team All-ACC and second-team All-America honors as a senior in 1980. The Heels finished No. 10 in the final AP rankings that season with an 11-1 record.

Both Lawrence, as a senior, and Bryant ran for more than 1,000 yards that fall. It was also the final year Lawrence Taylor was on the other side of the ball for the Tar Heels, so they were loaded and awfully physical.

As well known as those players were and remain a part of UNC’s football lore, the program was churning out offensive lineman at an amazing rate, many of whom played in the NFL, including Donnalley.

Donnalley with the Steelers.
Donnalley with the Steelers. (Courtesy of Rick Donnalley)

“It is hard to say why the lineman were so good when I was at Carolina,” he said. “Maybe the key was that we were so good on both sides of the ball and we practiced against each other every day. Maybe it’s just doing a lot of little things right. In the end, we had to win because we were Tar Heels!”

At 6-foot-2 and 261 pounds as a senior, Donalley helped lead the Heels to two ACC championships and bowl wins over Michigan and Texas, the latter of which was played in Houston.

It was the win over Michigan in the 1979 Gator Bowl, however, that helped put UNC on a higher place on the national map.

Michigan’s players made some wise cracks about the Tar Heels heading into the game, which was billed by some as football royalty versus a basketball school. Yet, Carolina was the more physical team and won 17-15.

“The Gator Bowl was a sweet win because we didn’t think that a ‘football school’ like Michigan gave us any respect,” Donnalley said.

His other fondest memories from those days?

“Winning two ACC championships while at Carolina was my fondest memory,” he replied. “Also, beating Duke four times made for a festive regular season-ending party at the Kenan field house!”

Also an academic All-America, Donnalley was drafted in the third round of the 1981 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played six seasons in the NFL, two with the Steelers, two with the Washington Redskins and two with the Kansas City Chiefs seeing action in 71 games while starting 49 times.

Donnalley recently retired after 27 years with KPMG International.

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