Donaldson dusts off his kicking game
UConn WR takes on another role for the Huskies as well
Storrs — Mason Donaldson recently decided to dust off his kicking leg.
The UConn redshirt junior approached special teams coordinator Eddie Allen about handling kickoff duties.
Donaldson, who's from Allentown, Pa., had previous experience. He started kicking as a freshman at Salisbury Township High School and also played wide receiver.
UConn recruited him as a kicker but he eventually became a fulltime wide receiver. Sometimes, he still hung out with the kickers after practice and took some kicks, but nothing serious. Not until an opportunity arose this season for Donaldson to return to his roots.
"I saw that we needed some help," Donaldson said Tuesday. "We had a lot of people just bouncing around. I said to coach Allen that I still could do it if he wanted me to give it a shot."
Since it was four years ago that he last "let a ball fly," Donaldson first had to convince himself that he could do it before convincing Allen and head coach Randy Edsall. He practiced on his own last Tuesday and felt good.
On Friday, Donaldson learned during a special teams meeting that he had won the kickoff job. On Saturday, Donaldson made his debut, averaging 65 yards on two kickoffs against Tulane in New Orleans. Both went for touchbacks.
"He gave us everything we needed," Edsall said.
Donaldson also remains a receiver, catching two passes for 30 yards in five games this season.
Edsall gives Donaldson credit for stepping forward and asking to try out as a kickoff specialist. He evaluated Donaldson during practice last week.
By the end of the week, Edsall was impressed enough to give Donaldson the job. Redshirt freshman Noah Iden, graduate transfer Sean Young and redshirt freshman Clayton Harris all have taken turns kicking off this season.
"He earned it based on what he did and went out in the game and performed," Edsall said. "He's just got to be consistent."
Donaldson will be out there again Saturday when UConn (1-5, 0-3) hosts Houston (2-4, 0-2) in an American Athletic Conference game at noon at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
You'd be hard-pressed to find another wide receiver/kickoff specialist in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
"I think it's kind of cool," Donaldson said. "It's exciting. I just wanted to find a way on the field and just try and help these guys and contribute where I could. This is a spot that I felt that I could help with. But I don't think I know of anybody else that's doing it. I'm trying to start a trend."
Donaldson's duties will only include kickoffs. He's open to taking on a place-kicking role but hasn't been asked.
Donaldson is hoping to achieve a goal before graduating.
"Coming into college, I had one goal and that was to catch a touchdown, kick the extra point and then kick a touchback," Donaldson said. "All in a sequence. It's a little farfetched but I still have it in the back of my head. It's still sitting in there."
Maybe Donaldson can inspire some of the UConn kickers to give the receiving position a try.
"I think they want to," Donaldson said with a laugh. "I think they're seeing if somebody else can do it, maybe they can, too. We will see if anybody else flips spots." That's unlikely. It's doubtful any other kickers want to take a hard shot while catching the ball over the middle.
"It's a different world out there as receiver than it is as a kicker," Donaldson said. "I'll tell you, my mom is happy that I'm kicking again."
News and notes
• This week is the 10th anniversary of UConn football player Jasper Howard's death. He died after being stabbed during an on-campus incident. "You just look back on it and how senseless it really was that a young man's life was taken here on campus in the prime of his life," Edsall said. "It's always something that's going to stick with you . ... The kids that were part of that team, it's still difficult for them. The only thing you can do is just always remember him on those days and every day and understand what he meant. When you think about him, all it does is just bring a smile to your face because of the way he went about his business and how he conducted himself." ... Freshman linebacker Jackson Mitchell, a former standout at Ridgefield High School, will make his first career start Saturday. He led the Huskies with eight tackles in a 49-7 loss at Tulane last weekend . ... Huskies rank last in the AAC in total offense (295.8 yards per game), scoring offense (16.7 points) and scoring defense (40.5 points). g.keefe@theday.com