Ventson Donelson joined the University of Regina’s coaching staff as a defensive backs coach in 2016 and taking on duties as the team's pass game specialist starting with the 2024 season.
A standout defensive back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders during a playing career which spanned from 1991 to 2000, Donelson piled up 354 tackles, 12 interceptions, and five sacks over a total of 115 games played in the CFL. He was a 12th-round selection by the New England Patriots in the 1990 NFL Draft after a fine four-year career at Michigan State, which included a Rose Bowl title in 1988. Donelson earned honourable mention All-Big Ten honours in 1989 following his final season with the Spartans.
Among the players Donelson has coached with the Rams is a pair of CFL Draft selections. Jaxon Ford was a second round pick by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2023 while Jackson Sombach was taken by the Calgary Stampeders in the seventh round of the 2024 draft. Ford earned second-team All-Canadian status in 2022, while the list of Canada West all-star defensive backs during Donelson's tenure with the Rams includes Kahlen Branning, Ford, Brandon Gandire, Jeff Propp, and Sombach.
Donelson came to the Rams following a 2015 campaign in which he served not only as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the powerhouse Dr. Martin LeBoldus High School program, but also as a defensive backs coach for the Regina Thunder. Donelson was also on the LeBoldus staff during the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons as he helped guide the Golden Suns to city and provincial championships in each of his four seasons there. He also has experience coaching at the Regina Minor Football level and coached numerous future Rams at the 2018 Football Canada Cup, where he served as an assistant coach for the national championship-winning Team Saskatchewan squad.
Donelson is the owner and executive director of True Potential.
