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After a great day at practice in late January, 2022 Gulliver Prep (FL) 3-star WR De’Carlo Donaldson earned an offer from the Miami Hurricanes when the UM staff visited him at his school to watch him play.
“It was a very great moment,” Donaldson said of the Miami offer. “The U is actually one of my dream colleges, it was a college I’ve always wanted the opportunity to go to. So it was a very amazing moment.”
Two weeks later, the coaches invited Donaldson to attend UM’s junior day, which was an event where tons of recruits from all over the state visited campus. Even though he didn’t get much facetime with the staff, Donaldson says he has seen plenty at Miami already as a frequent visitor to Coral Gables.
“They wanted me to go there for junior day, but it was kind of hectic to talk with the coaches and stuff because there was so many recruits, also because I’m a sophomore and not really a junior,” Donaldson said. “But I’ve been to the campus plenty of times, that was the 8th or 9th time. The campus is very nice, especially the indoor facilities.”
During the quarantine, campuses across the country are locked down, but when things finally open back up for recruiting visits, Donaldson is looking to follow up his junior day experience at Miami with another trip to the local school.
“First, of course I’m going to take another trip to see the hometown team, see the campus again,” Donaldson said. “I probably might go to South Carolina after that. I like the fact that South Carolina loves big receivers.”
Ultimately, Donaldson sees the atmosphere and close connections at UM as something that gives him high interest in joining the program.
“At the U, it’s a family over there. It’s not a football bond, it’s a family bond,” Donaldson said. “They have fun with each other – when we were at junior day, the players came out, they were playing around. They have a strong love for each other.”
At 6-2 215 pounds, Donaldson is considered a jumbo receiver that could possibly grow into a tight end at the next level. UM currently sees him as a receiver, but the staff told Donaldson that things could change a few years from now.
“They’re just trying to decide what I’m going to be by the end of my senior year,” Donaldson said. “Am I going to play tight end or am I going to play receiver? With my playing style, I play like a receiver. I can play tight end, but it’s something that’s not really for me. If that was my last chance to play and that was the only place I could play, I would play it, but if I had the choice, I’d play receiver.”
Donaldson also holds offers from UF, FSU, South Carolina, Louisville, and Syracuse among others, and all are currently recruiting him as a WR. With a plan to decide by the end of his junior season, Donaldson will choose a school earlier than a lot of his peers, and he is already evaluating each of his options.
“First, I’ve got to look into things academics-wise, because I want to major in engineering and robotics or I want to deal with criminal justice,” Donaldson said. “Then, does this place feel like home to me? And third is football.”
Donaldson spent his first two years of high school ball at Hialeah, but recently transferred to Gulliver Prep over the offseason for his junior campaign.
“The reason why I really switched was because my coach at Hialeah at the time, he didn’t know if he was coming back or not,” Donaldson said. “So I had already made the choice to go to Gulliver, and he ended up at Pace, and I just decided to stay at Gulliver since I had already made that decision. Gulliver is going to open up a whole new and different type of lane for me that I’ve never had the chance to experience before.”
As a sophomore in 2019, Donaldson recorded 32 catches for 527 yards and 5 TD’s in 9 games, averaging 16.5 yards per catch.
“I’m very versatile with it because my freshman year, I only played the X position,” Donaldson said. “But going into my sophomore year, my receivers coach saw the way I progressed in route running and wanted to see me play a little bit of slot. I can be an aggressive receiver, I can be a finesse receiver, and I’m also getting faster, so I’m just a versatile player.
“This offseason, I’m trying to tone down on my weight. I’m trying to get to a target weight, be quicker off the line. I’d say I’m trying to play at 205-210 pounds.”
“It was a very great moment,” Donaldson said of the Miami offer. “The U is actually one of my dream colleges, it was a college I’ve always wanted the opportunity to go to. So it was a very amazing moment.”
Two weeks later, the coaches invited Donaldson to attend UM’s junior day, which was an event where tons of recruits from all over the state visited campus. Even though he didn’t get much facetime with the staff, Donaldson says he has seen plenty at Miami already as a frequent visitor to Coral Gables.
“They wanted me to go there for junior day, but it was kind of hectic to talk with the coaches and stuff because there was so many recruits, also because I’m a sophomore and not really a junior,” Donaldson said. “But I’ve been to the campus plenty of times, that was the 8th or 9th time. The campus is very nice, especially the indoor facilities.”
During the quarantine, campuses across the country are locked down, but when things finally open back up for recruiting visits, Donaldson is looking to follow up his junior day experience at Miami with another trip to the local school.
“First, of course I’m going to take another trip to see the hometown team, see the campus again,” Donaldson said. “I probably might go to South Carolina after that. I like the fact that South Carolina loves big receivers.”
Ultimately, Donaldson sees the atmosphere and close connections at UM as something that gives him high interest in joining the program.
“At the U, it’s a family over there. It’s not a football bond, it’s a family bond,” Donaldson said. “They have fun with each other – when we were at junior day, the players came out, they were playing around. They have a strong love for each other.”
At 6-2 215 pounds, Donaldson is considered a jumbo receiver that could possibly grow into a tight end at the next level. UM currently sees him as a receiver, but the staff told Donaldson that things could change a few years from now.
“They’re just trying to decide what I’m going to be by the end of my senior year,” Donaldson said. “Am I going to play tight end or am I going to play receiver? With my playing style, I play like a receiver. I can play tight end, but it’s something that’s not really for me. If that was my last chance to play and that was the only place I could play, I would play it, but if I had the choice, I’d play receiver.”
Donaldson also holds offers from UF, FSU, South Carolina, Louisville, and Syracuse among others, and all are currently recruiting him as a WR. With a plan to decide by the end of his junior season, Donaldson will choose a school earlier than a lot of his peers, and he is already evaluating each of his options.
“First, I’ve got to look into things academics-wise, because I want to major in engineering and robotics or I want to deal with criminal justice,” Donaldson said. “Then, does this place feel like home to me? And third is football.”
Donaldson spent his first two years of high school ball at Hialeah, but recently transferred to Gulliver Prep over the offseason for his junior campaign.
“The reason why I really switched was because my coach at Hialeah at the time, he didn’t know if he was coming back or not,” Donaldson said. “So I had already made the choice to go to Gulliver, and he ended up at Pace, and I just decided to stay at Gulliver since I had already made that decision. Gulliver is going to open up a whole new and different type of lane for me that I’ve never had the chance to experience before.”
As a sophomore in 2019, Donaldson recorded 32 catches for 527 yards and 5 TD’s in 9 games, averaging 16.5 yards per catch.
“I’m very versatile with it because my freshman year, I only played the X position,” Donaldson said. “But going into my sophomore year, my receivers coach saw the way I progressed in route running and wanted to see me play a little bit of slot. I can be an aggressive receiver, I can be a finesse receiver, and I’m also getting faster, so I’m just a versatile player.
“This offseason, I’m trying to tone down on my weight. I’m trying to get to a target weight, be quicker off the line. I’d say I’m trying to play at 205-210 pounds.”
