As Aaron Donald writes his name into the Pitt record books for a new reason every day, a bigger question has emerged about the impact of his career as a Panther and whether the next step should be taken toward enshrining him among the program's best:

Should Pitt retire No. 97?

It's a question that might have seemed far-fetched prior to the 2013 season. There was no doubt that Donald was a very good player, the best overall player on the team and the Panthers' primary disruptive force along the defensive front. After putting up 16 tackles for loss and 11 sacks as part of a strong defensive line in 2011, he recorded 18.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last season.

Ask any Pitt fan or observer who Pitt's best player was in 2012, and Donald was the consensus.

Then he followed up that performance with an even more productive year in 2013. Donald was an unstoppable force this season, knocking out 26.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 16 quarterback hurries and four forced fumbles. He led the nation in tackles for loss, ranked 10th in forced fumbles per game and 13th in sacks.

Donald took over games in 2013, most notably the loss at Georgia Tech when he recorded 11 tackles - all solo - and six tackles for loss, or the Syracuse game, when he had nine tackles - eight solo - 3.5 tackles for loss and a crucial blocked extra point in Pitt's 17-16 win over the Orange.

There were never questions about Donald's level of play; he has been outstanding since he arrived from Penn Hills High School in the summer of 2010. But as the fall of 2013 has turned to winter, the discussion has broadened. And as college football has moved through its postseason awards week, Donald has moved into rarified air in Pitt history.

On Monday, he was presented with the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation's top defensive player. And on Wednesday, he claimed the Rotary Lombardi Award, presented to the nation's top linebacker or lineman. Donald became the first Pitt player to win the Nagurski Trophy and the second to take the Lombardi Award; Hugh Green also won it in 1980.

Donald continued to collect honors on Thursday night when he was awarded the Bednarik Award and the Outland Trophy, making him the first Pitt player to win the Outland since Mark May in 1980 and the first Pitt player ever to win the Bednarik.

And with that presentation Thursday night, Donald completed his sweep of major national honors, taking all four awards he had been nominated for. But he didn't just blaze a trail as the first Pitt player to win the Nagurski and Bedanik; he set a new high mark for Pitt players in the total number of major national awards. With four such honors, Donald passed the likes of Tony Dorsett (1976 Heisman Trophy, 1976 Maxwell Award, 1976 Walter Camp Award), Green (1980 Lombardi Award, 1980 Maxwell Award, 1980 Walter Camp Award) and Larry Fitzgerald (2003 Biletnikoff Award, 2003 Walter Camp Award).

In fact, Dorsett, Green and Fitzgerald are the only other players in Pitt history to win at least two major national awards.

Dorsett, Green and Fitzgerald have something else in common as well:

They have all had their numbers retired at Pitt.

So the question becomes: Should Pitt retire Aaron Donald's No. 97 jersey?

That question has moved from a bit of mythologizing a current player into a legitimate discussion. The stats were one thing and made a strong case for Donald as one of Pitt's best players. But the hardware - two major national awards and counting - are pushing him into the realm of the all-time greats. The only thing Dorsett, Green and Fitzgerald have that is missing from Donald's resume is unanimous All-America honors, but that may just be a matter of time; on Thursday night, he was named to the Walter Camp Foundation All-America first team.

For official "unanimous" status, the NCAA recognizes All-America teams selected by the Walter Camp Foundation, the Football Writers of America, the Associated Press, the Sporting News and the American Football Coaches Association. Donald's chances of achieving unanimous All-America status are high. That's good for his chances at number retirement; of the nine Pitt players who have been unanimous All-Americans, the only three who haven't had their numbers retired played in 1932 or earlier (Warren Heller - 1932, Jay Donchess - 1929, Gilbert Welch - 1927).

Still, that might not even be necessary to earn Donald a number retirement, since only six of the eight Pitt players whose numbers have been retired were unanimous All-Americans. Dorsett, Green, Fitzgerald, Mark May, Bill Fralic and Marshall Goldberg were unanimous selections, but Dan Marino and Joe Schmidt were only named first-team All-Americans by one selector.

Pitt waited 10 years to retire Fitzgerald's No. 1 - which finally happened in September of this year - but with multiple major national awards and what will likely be unanimous All-America honors, there's no need to wait:

Pitt should retire Aaron Donald's No. 97 jersey.

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