CJ Donaldson

De’Carlo “CJ” Donaldson, who has two siblings, grew up in Miami with his mother (Tyneshia Fleming). He played a versatile wide receiver role in high school at Gulliver Prep and had a breakout freshman year, before an injury sidelined him as a sophomore. As a senior, he caught 81 passes for 1,164 yards and 13 touchdowns, helping to lead his team to a regional final. A three-star recruit, he initially committed to Tulane before West Virginia got eyes on him during a school visit. He committed to the Mountaineers — he was listed as a tight end, because of his size, but former coach Neal Brown and his staff envisioned Donaldson as more of a versatile running back. He impressed immediately in Morgantown, then put together three productive seasons, despite battling injuries. He transferred to Ohio State for his senior year and shared backfield duties with Bo Jackson. Donaldson is well put together — he looks more like a linebacker than a running back, with his long torso/arms and thick lower half. His short-area quickness is better than his long speed, and he shows instincts at the line of scrimmage to find holes and grind out yards. He would benefit from displaying better tempo and patience as blocks are developing. He had a costly fumble against Penn State in 2025 but offers third-down upside as a blocker and receiver (he was a high school receiver and had zero drops over the past two seasons). Overall, Donaldson is an all-gas, downhill back who wants to quickly find a crease, stay north-south and pound away (similar in ways to another former Ohio State running back, Carlos Hyde).