Donaldson to redshirt in 2020

Senior OL suffered knee injury at the end of 2019 season

Miami Hurricanes senior offensive lineman Navaughn Donaldson announced recently he will redshirt the 2020 season.

“After talking to family and the coaching staff I decided to redshirt and focus on me this season,” Donaldson tweeted.

Donaldson, who started 34 games his first three seasons with the Hurricanes, suffered a right knee injury in the regular-season finale at Duke last season.

He missed the Independence Bowl against Louisiana Tech and was set to sit out UM’s slate of spring practices before the coronavirus pandemic stopped all college athletic activities in March.

Taking a redshirt season allows Donaldson to take his time recovering from the knee injury while retaining eligibility for a fifth season in 2021.

Donaldson (6-foot-6, 345 pounds) started at left guard for the Hurricanes all junior season. Midseason, coaches began platooning John Campbell in with him to help keep Donaldson fresh.

As a Freshman AllAmerican selection by ESPN and FWAA and AllACC honorable mention in 2017, Donaldson played right guard. As a sophomore in 2018, he shifted to right tackle before the start of the season before moving back inside.

All other Miami offensive linemen that played significant snaps in 2019 return with new offensive line coach Garin Justice now leading Butch Barry’s former unit.

The Hurricanes also added transfers in Houston graduate student tackle Jarrid Williams and Florida freshman Issiah Walker. They join the two linemen in the 2020 recruiting class who enrolled early for the spring, Jalen Rivers and Chris Washington.

WILFREDO LEE/AP Navaughn Donaldson, who started 34 games in his first three seasons, suffered a knee injury against Duke late in the 2019 season.