Sometimes you just have to know when to stop. Right now, Illinois’ former starting left guard Martin O’Donnell knows this draft weekend isn’t for him.

“It’s the kind of thing where I had to take a step back,” said O’Donnell about why he’s not trying to make the leap from collegiate to professional football. “It just wasn’t something that was for me.”

Coming to the University at a time when Illinois football was the punching bag of the Big Ten, O’Donnell’s main mission for his final season with the Illini was to have a winning record and make it to a bowl game.

O’Donnell received his wish and had a successful senior campaign, leading the offensive line during the team’s nine wins. Illinois was second in the Big Ten and 15th in the nation for sacks allowed, averaging only 1.2 per game.

“Martin’s a guy that obviously had a great career, and he played through a ton of injuries,” said his former offensive line coach Eric Wolford. “After the Rose Bowl Game, he sat down and made an educated decision that it probably wasn’t in his best interest to continue playing.”

Some of the injuries O’Donnell endured in his five seasons wearing the Orange and Blue affected his lower extremities: his knees, ankles and feet. As a lineman working every game in the trenches, O’Donnell took a daily beating.

“He still has a foot that kind of gives him problems at times, so it’s more of an issue of being able to physically handle the day-to-day grind of the National Football League,” Wolford said.

The Downers Grove, Ill., native’s decision also was based off his future plans. Currently interning with Northwestern Mutual in Champaign, O’Donnell has many other goals that do not involve a football, helmet or pads.

After this semester, he will have one final online class to complete before graduating from his Human Resource Education master’s program. Another reason for taking it easy is his upcoming marriage.

“I’m getting married this summer, living in the Champaign-Urbana area, working … the good stuff,” he said.

Even though he will no longer be playing football, the Illini offense will miss his leadership both on and off the field.

“He was a leader on our offense obviously, he was a leader of our offensive line,” Wolford said. “He was a guy that, you know, when the time was right he would speak up, and then other times when he thought he needed to lead by example, he’d lead by example.”

And just because he has no intentions of entering the NFL, O’Donnell knows his Illinois teammates will have a positive showing over the weekend.

He is excited to see where Rashard Mendenhall and J Leman both end up and feels the other players chasing their dreams will find success, too.

“All our guys will catch on with somebody,” O’Donnell said.