According to Caldwell, Donan's size, tremendous speed and uncanny ability to foresee enemy moves were what made him stand out among the nation's football athletes.
Head line coach Dick Colman praised him for giving his teammates pep talks and boosting morale.
The 6–5, 230- pound bruiser helped arouse his team to a second half come- from-behind win that wiped out a 14-7 Navy lead.
Donan graduated from Princeton in the spring of 1951 with a degree in history, married the same year and entered the U.S. Army where he served in the Transportation Corps.
When his military service obligation was over he entered the life insurance business, eventually opening two offices in New York City.