Donley attended Cambridge High School (Class of 1977), where he was a three-sport standout in football, track and basketball, earning the nickname 'White Lightning' for his blazing speed.
On the gridiron, Donley was a three-year letterman at running back for the Bobcats, finishing with a career total of 2,572 rushing yards.
and was a double-winner at the conference meet as a senior (1977) - winning the long jump (21-10.75 and the 220-yard dash (22.4 seconds), helping the Bobcats to the OVAC team title.
In basketball, Donley was hampered by his shoulder injury as a senior, but still managed to score 10 points per contest and had a school-record 17-assist game.
As a senior, he registered 43 receptions for 887 yards (school record), a 20.6-yard average and 7 touchdowns, which was the third straight season that he led the team in receiving.
The Dallas Cowboys liked his athletic potential and ignored his previous chronic shoulder injury, selecting him in the second round (53rd overall) of the 1981 NFL draft.
In 1984 with the retirement of Drew Pearson, he started 9 games over new addition Mike Renfro,[3] but was limited by shoulder and hamstring injuries.