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Donnie Shell
South Carolina State
Shell, a native of Whitmire, S.C., was a standout performer as a
linebacker and defensive back at South Carolina State College (now
University) during his collegiate career from 1970-73. As a senior the
5-foot-11 Shell was the dominant player at his position in the
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, earning All-MEAC honors. He was also
named to the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Courier All-America teams.
He also starred on the baseball field at South Carolina State.
At the conclusion of
his collegiate career, Shell signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh
Steeler (1974) of the National Football League. During an illustrious
career with the Steelers, which spanned eleven seasons, he started every
year, earned All-Pro five times and helped Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl
Championships. He was selected to the Steelers All-Time Team and to the
NFL Silver Anniversary Super Bowl Team. He played in more than 200 games
as a Steeler and made 51 interceptions - making him the only strong
safety in NFL history to record 50 or more interceptions. He
has also been voted to the NCAA Division II Team of the Quarter Century
and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network (SBN) Black College 100-Year
Anniversary squad.
Shell was inducted into
the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame at South Bend,
Ind., in 1998. Earlier, he was enshrined in the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference Hall of Fame, the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, and
the South Carolina State University Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was one of
15 finalists for induction into the NFL Hall of Fame. Since 1994, Shell
has served as Director of Player Development for the Carolina Panthers
of the NFL. In this capacity, he has earned the "Best Player Programs"
award from the NFl in 1998 and 1999 and garnered the "Most Outstanding
Player Programs" honor from the NFC in 2000. In 2002, the NFL Player
Development created the Winston/Shell Award in in his honor for being
one of the pioneers in player development and always having one of the
most creative programs in the NFL.
A 1974 graduate of
South Carolina State with a degree in physical education and a minor in
biology, Shell went on to earn a master's in guidance and counseling
from South Carolina State in 1977. The 53-year-old Shell and his
wife Paulette, also an S.C. State graduate, have three children, all of
which attended SCSU. April was the first female drum major at the
university, Dawn played basketball for four years, and Donnie is a
sophomore on the Bulldog football team. The family resides in Rock Hill,
S.C.
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