Navaughn Donaldson to Miami: Hurricanes Land 4-Star OT Prospect

Offensive tackle recruit Navaughn Donaldson is staying close to home, as he committed to play for the Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes Tuesday. 

Donaldson made the announcement on Twitter:

According to Scout, Donaldson is a 4-star prospect. He ranks as the No. 168 overall player, No. 20 offensive tackle and No. 3 offensive tackle from the state of Florida in the class of 2017.

Donaldson initially committed to Miami in July 2015, but he continued to take recruiting visits before deciding to honor his original pledge.

Per Scout, Florida, Florida State, Mississippi State and North Carolina were the main schools the Hurricanes beat out to keep Donaldson.

It is a major coup for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that head coach Mark Richt convinced him to stay even though it was previous coach Al Golden who landed the first commitment.

In addition to that, Miami kept him away from the other top Florida schools, which is something it must continue to do with Miami-area recruits if it wants to return to national championship contention.

Donaldson could be a huge building block at 6'5" and 336 pounds, according to Scout.

Although learning technique and adjusting to the speed of the game will take time, he already has ideal size to excel at the college level.

The Hurricanes haven't won double-digit games since 2003, but if they can get back to outflanking Florida and Florida State on the recruiting trail as they did with Donaldson, that could change in the near future.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.