The news arrived out of nowhere at the end of last season, just when Conor Gilmartin-Donohue began to ponder how his senior year at Northeastern would unfold.

Gilmartin-Donohue

Gilmartin-Donohue was a key contributor for the Huskies as a junior and seemed destined to serve as the team’s top tight end as a senior. That plan and the course of his life changed when he least expected it.

“We came in the Sunday after our last game and our athletic director Peter Roby told us that was it, they didn’t want to fund the program anymore,” Gilmartin-Donohue said. “It was devastating to everyone — the coaches and the players — but you have to move on.”

Gilmartin-Donohue did just that after Northeastern dropped its program and ended up following an unlikely path to North Texas, where he has quickly established himself as a key player for the Mean Green heading into its season opener on Saturday at Clemson.

Northeastern set up a way its seniors could transfer, play their final college season, return in the spring and use the credits they earn at other schools toward graduating from the prestigious private school in Boston.

Gilmartin-Donohue is taking advantage of that opportunity in a part of the country he had never seen before visiting this summer. What the White Plains, N.Y., native learned on that visit convinced him that even though he had never experienced Texas summer heat or lived in the South, UNT was the right place to finish his career.

UNT is entering its first season under new offensive coordinator Mike Canales, who plans on making tight ends a key part of the Mean Green’s offense. Gilmartin-Donohue has only practiced with UNT for a few weeks, but has already found a role and a comfort zone with the Mean Green.

He is expected to split time at tight end with fellow senior Draylen Ross.

“Conor was a huge find for us,” UNT head coach Todd Dodge said. “As much as we are using our tight ends, we can’t go into a season with just one guy who can set the edge in Draylen. The rest of the guys we have playing in that tight end-utility back role are more utility back types.”

Gilmartin-Donohue, 6-5, 253, couldn’t be happier with the how his time has worked out so far at UNT, where he will play at the Football Bowl Subdivision level for the first time after spending the first three years of his career playing at Northeastern. The Huskies played in the Football Championship Subdivision before dropping the program.

“I’m excited,” Gilmartin-Donohue said. “This is my last go-around, and I am going to put everything I can into it so that we can win.”

Finding his way to Denton

If it wasn’t for a lucky set of circumstances, Gilmartin-Donohue might never have ended up at UNT, despite his efforts to contact just about anyone he could in an effort to find a school at which to spend his senior year.

Gilmartin-Donhue sent highlight tapes of his junior season to about 50 schools across the country playing at every level from Division II to FCS to FBS. One of the schools he sent tape to was Division II power North Alabama, where John Pont was an assistant coach.

Pont brought the tape to UNT, where he worked as a graduate assistant coach last spring. The Mean Green’s coaching staff quickly recognized Gilmartin-Donohue.

“We had tape on him because Northeastern had played Ball State a couple of years ago, said Dodge, who led UNT to a win over the Cardinals in 2009. “We were able to evaluate him pretty quickly. It was late in the spring when we invited him to walk on. He paid for his own way to fly down and look things over.”

Gilmartin-Donohue knew little about UNT when he came on his visit.

“I had heard of North Texas from Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas when they led the nation in rushing and from when they went to all those bowl games in the early 2000s,” Gilmartin-Donohue said of UNT, where Cobbs and Thomas won back-to-back national rushing titles in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, respectively, during a four-year bowl run from 2001-04.

Gilmartin-Donohue was excited not only about the opportunity to play for an FBS team for the first time, but also about his chance to play a major role.

A few weeks after visiting UNT, Gilmartin-Donohue jumped in his car and drove 30 hours over three days to get to Denton and join the team. Despite being a late arrival and a one-year player, Gilmartin-Donohue has quickly meshed with his teammates.

“Conor’s quiet and laid back, but he is funny and jokes around with the guys,” UNT junior cornerback Royce Hill said. “He fits in well with us.”

Part of what Dodge likes about Gilmartin-Donohue is that he is the son of a high school coach and has set an example with his work ethic that has made an impression on UNT’s younger players.

“He’s a hard worker,” freshman wide receiver Brelan Chancellor said. “He shows the younger guys like me how to work. He makes a lot of plays and plays hard all the time.”

Getting a steal

Hearing that Gilmartin-Donohue found a spot to play at the top level of college football was no surprise to Brian Surace, Northeastern’s former offensive coordinator who is now coaching at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

Gilmartin-Donohue caught 11 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown in his final season at Northeastern and was also a standout blocker.

“Conor was a good player for us,” Surace said. “He can block and is athletic enough to keep a defense honest in the passing game. It was surprising that more people weren’t interested in him because it is hard to find a player with a body like his who can block.”

What made Gilmartin-Donohue a key player at Northeastern in addition to his talents is his demeanor that has impressed UNT’s coaches.

“He was definitely a team guy,” Surace said. “He got along with his teammates and worked really hard. He really took to heart what he was supposed to do and was very hard on himself, almost to his detriment. He really grew to understand that everyone makes mistakes.”

The overall package Gilmartin-Donohue brings to UNT is the reason Dodge gave him a scholarship at the end of two-a-days along with a handful of other walk-ons.

The reward was particularly fulfilling for Gilmartin-Donohue after he completed the adjustment to UNT that was smooth with the notable exception of the weather. Gilmartin-Donohue had been to Georgia and Virginia for games during his time at Northeastern, but had never been to an area with the consistent heat he has experienced in Texas.

“The weather when I came down and the first couple of days of practice were tough,” Gilmartin-Donohue said. “I had to get used to the heat.”

Making the adjustment was worth it for Gilmartin-Donohue, who is looking forward to showing that he can play on the FBS level at UNT before heading back to Northeastern.

“Everyone here has been terrific,” Gilmartin-Donohue said. “The Southern hospitality has been great and everyone has accepted me with open arms. The guys on the team have been awesome.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .