Starting Hurricanes OL Navaughn Donaldson plans to redshirt in 2020 to ‘focus on me’
Navaughn Donaldson has started nearly every game since he joined the Miami Hurricanes as a freshman in 2017. In 2020, the offensive lineman will take a different approach: Donaldson plans to redshirt.
The senior announced the decision on Twitter.
“After talking to family and the coaching staff,” Donaldson tweeted, “I decided to redshirt and focus on me this season.”
Donaldson has played guard and tackle for the Hurricanes, and was a front-runner to start at one of the two positions in the fall. He started all 12 regular-season games at left guard last year before going down with an injury in the finale against the Duke Blue Devils and missing the Independence Bowl. Donaldson had started 32 consecutive games before sitting out the 14-0 loss to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Donaldson had not been cleared to participate in spring practices in March. The current state of his recovery from a right knee injury is unknown, although athletes recovering from injuries regained access to practice facilities last month.
Although the past two seasons were up and down for him, Donaldson is still one of the most talented linemen on the roster and flashed an abundance of potential as a freshman in 2017. At Miami Central, Donaldson was the No. 11 tackle and No. 72 overall player in the Class of 2017. He seized a starting job as soon as he arrived in Coral Gables and opened the season as the Hurricanes’ starting right guard. He started 10 of 13 games at the position, earning freshman All-American nods from ESPN and the Football Writers Association of America, and was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference honorable mention.
Miami tried moving Donaldson to right tackle to start to 2018, but he struggled and the Hurricanes slid him back inside to right guard after six games. Miami even brought him off the bench for one game late in the season as the offensive line searched for answers.
The line was once again an issue in 2019, and the Hurricanes hope an infusion of depth — plus new offensive line coach Garin Justice — will help Miami fix the problems. Even without Donaldson, the Hurricanes still have six offensive linemen with starting experience: DJ Scaife Jr., Jakai Clark, Zion Nelson, Corey Gaynor, John Campbell Jr. and Jarrid Williams, who announced his transfer to Miami from the Houston Cougars on June 7.
Williams is the favorite to start at one tackle spot, Gaynor is a virtual lock to start at center and Scaife, who has also played guard and tackle, is likely to start somewhere on the line. The other two spots, however, are more up for grabs than ever with Donaldson planning to take most of 2020 off — he can still play up to four games and retain redshirt status — and return as a redshirt senior in 2021.
The Hurricanes have had small-group workouts taking place on campus since June 15 with supervision from athletic trainers and strength and conditioning coaches as part of the first phase of bringing athletes back to campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Miami can begin preseason training camp in August.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 3:55 PM.
