A native of Oak Lawn, Illinois, Donahue attended Brother Rice High School in the Chicago Catholic League, graduating in 1974.

[2] Donahue was selected as a consensus first-team offensive guard on both the 1976 and 1977 College Football All-America Teams.

[3] He was the 13th player in Michigan football history to be twice honored as a consensus All-American and was rated by Bo Schembechler as "one of his all-time best linemen.

It was a great experience lining up against legends like Randy White of the Dallas Cowboys and Joe Greene and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[7] Donahue was named the president of his alma mater Brother Rice High School in 2018.