Navaughn Donaldson is finally back from knee injury. How will UM use him the rest of 2020?
There was no way to truly know what Saturday would look like for Navaughn Donaldson. The offensive lineman had not played in more than a year and had not even practiced much at full speed, as his clearance coincided with the Miami Hurricanes’ COVID-19 outbreak and two-week shutdown. He was told to be ready in case one of Miami’s starting guards when down, Donaldson said, and then Jakai Clark did. Donaldson, for the first time since he tore two ligaments in his right knee last year at Wallace Wade Stadium, entered a game, coincidentally right back in Durham, North Carolina.
With 1:35 left in the first quarter, it was impossible not to notice Donaldson had taken over for Clark at left guard. Shaka Heyward blitzed and Donaldson literally knocked the linebacker off his feet. Heyward’s right leg kicked off the ground as Donaldson steered him into the middle of the field, his 6-foot-6, 350-pound frame creating a wall the Duke Blue Devils’ linebackers couldn’t pass. Cam’Ron Harris raced untouched into the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown.
“There was a hole between Durham and Chapel Hill that Cam could run through,” Manny Diaz said Monday.
It was the clear standout moment of Donaldson’s first game of the season. In the Hurricanes’ team meeting Monday, Diaz made sure to spotlight Donaldson’s comeback from his devastating knee injury when he was recapping No. 9 Miami’s win against Duke.
Each week, the coach makes sure to pick out a few plays which may have flown under the radar — maybe a block with no statistic attached or a defensive play to set up a teammate — and Donaldson’s first-quarter block was an obvious pick.
Donaldson played into the third quarter with Clark sidelined by an undisclosed injury, finally exiting as the Hurricanes (8-1, 7-1 Atlantic Coast) were simply running out the clock on a 48-0 win. The senior — who has started since his freshman year and graded out as Miami’s top offensive lineman in 2019, according to Pro Football Focus — could provide another boost to an already improving offensive line this year and certainly change the complexion of the group next season.
Diaz didn’t have an update on Clark’s status Monday, but offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said he’s “optimistic Jakai’s OK.” The offensive coordinator didn’t, however, rule out the possibility Donaldson could start games down the stretch, including Saturday against the No. 20 North Carolina Tar Heels at Hard Rock Stadium.
“I’d say in this year everybody’s available and every option’s possible,” Lashlee said Monday. “We’re going to need him down the stretch, I would think.”
Said Donaldson: “I’m comfortable with anything that coach wants me to do. Me and him talk all the time about stuff. If the coaches feel like it’s necessary for me to play, then I’ll play, but, like I said earlier, the offensive line room has a whole bunch of talent at tackle, guard and center, so I think playing me slow was a good idea.”
At first, Donaldson didn’t realize how serious his injuries were. When he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament against the Blue Devils last year, he knew it would keep him out for the rest of the season. He didn’t quite grasp the severity, though, until some players who went through similar recoveries told him about their paths.
Donaldson said he couldn’t walk on his right leg for six months. He had to relearn how to bend the joint. He couldn’t participate in spring practices and in June announced he planned to redshirt this season as he recovered.
Most of his rehabilitation work, Donaldson said, amounted to cardio. He ran on treadmills with changing speeds and trainers tried to have his lower body in constant motion during their sessions.
“It was harder than practice sometimes,” Donaldson said. “When I got back to practice, I was happy, how hard rehab was.”
In October, Donaldson started working out on the field before games in Miami Gardens and he started traveling with the Hurricanes in November. Donaldson was available last month against the Virginia Tech Hokies, but Miami didn’t have to use him until Saturday.
“It’s great to see Navaughn get redemption,” offensive lineman Corey Gaynor said Saturday. “How heroic is it that at this field around this time that he hurt his leg and then he was able to play a football game tonight? That is a blessing.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 3:05 PM.
