Hurricanes make spring change on offensive line
With senior offensive lineman Navaughn Donaldson back healthy this spring for the Miami Hurricanes, he has been inserted at right guard on UM’s firstteam offensive line, Miami lineman DJ Scaife told reporters on a Tuesday web conference following the Hurricanes’ fifth spring practice.
Scaife was starting at right guard in the fall of 2020 while Jarrid Williams, off his transfer from Houston, was the team’s starting right tackle. Now, Scaife and Williams are competing at tackle on the right side with Donaldson back.
Scaife, capable of playing both guard and tackle, was at right tackle in 2019, last time Donaldson was healthy. While playing guard last season out of a greater team need, tackle is where Scaife feels most comfortable.
“I’ve been playing tackle my whole life,” he said.
Donaldson tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee in the 2019 regular-season finale at Duke. After rehabbing it, he first became available in a reserve role toward the end of the 2020 season.
“‘Vaughn’s got his mojo back,” center Corey Gaynor said after UM’s first spring practice last week. “Navaughn is arguably looking the best I’ve ever seen him, so we’re happy to see that.”
Scaife added that Donaldson looks “very good” coming off his injury.
Left tackle Zion Nelson said last week that Jakai Clark and Jalen Rivers have been splitting reps at left guard.
“Both of those guys look awesome to me,” Scaife said on Tuesday. “Both of them look like vets, especially Jakai. Jalen Rivers, he looks very good too.
“Jalen Rivers, I’ll be learning new things from him during practice. [Tuesday], I asked him about a technique and he taught me and told me, and it worked.”
Defensive tackle Jared Harrison-Hunte added on Tuesday that Rivers, listed at 6 foot 5 and 325 pounds, is arguably the team’s hardest hitter on the offensive line.
“That’s a big boy,” Harrison-Hunte said of Rivers, who is going into his second college season. “Let’s just say that. He’s hard to move. He has great feet for big guy. He’s very smart, plays hard. Boy, he can hit.”
On retirement
Harrison-Hunte’s fellow defensive tackle in the 2019 recruiting class, Jason Blissett, announced his retirement from football last month, citing multiple head injuries. He offered his reaction to reporters on Tuesday.
“That’s my brother,” Harrison-Hunte said. “I lived with him and all that. I came in with him. That’s the first person I met. It’s kind of sad to see him like retire and everything, but he’s doing what’s best for him and I’m gonna support him regardless because that’s just my brother. That’s who I rock with all the time.”
Blissett, a former fourstar recruit from Poly Prep in New York, saw action in nine games in 2020, finishing with seven tackles. Also from New York, Harrison-Hunte attended Christ the King High in Queens.
New approach
Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee made an interesting point to 560-AM last week that he no longer anticipates spreading carries among veteran Cam’Ron Harris and second-year backs Donald Chaney Jr. and Jaylan Knighton. He envisions a system in which one of them gets up to 20 touches in a game with a second running back spelling him.
Last season, Harris had 126 attempts at a 5.1 yard-per-carry average, Chaney carried 68 times for a 4.7 average and Knighton totaled 52 attempts, averaging 4.0 yards per carry. Knighton missed the final two, finishing with nine games played while the other two had 11 apiece.
“What I’m most improved on was probably my footwork,” said Chaney last week of his spring progress. “I’m fast. I got the power. My footwork wasn’t really up to date, so, this whole offseason right there, I’ve just working on my footwork.”
Chaney also noted his pass protection as an area of emphasis, and he wants to break off more explosive runs. Running backs coach Eric Hickson has reviewed film with him repeatedly, pointing to holes that he missed.
“He’ll replay it over and over and over to the point where you’ll never miss it again,” Chaney said.