Mario Cristobal shares medical update on Donald Chaney Jr.

In Miami’s 28-20 win over Clemson on Saturday, Hurricanes running back Donald Chaney Jr. was slow to get up following a heavy collision. However, he was able to finish the game. On Monday, head coach Mario Cristobal provided an update on Chaney’s condition.

“He’s doing well,” Cristobal said. “He got up. He ended up getting back in the game, but he got up really slowly and it was concerning at the time. But, we feel like he’s in a good place right now.”

If Chaney suffered a serious injury, Miami’s offense would significantly feel his absence. Chaney boasts 375 rushing yards this season on 73 carries, averaging 5.1 yards per rush. He’s pushed his way into the end zone on two runs.

Chaney’s 375 yards are the second-most for the Hurricanes. Henry Parrish Jr. leads the team with 452 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Nonetheless, Parrish did not play in Miami’s triumph over Clemson.

Despite absorbing a few bumps and bruises, Chaney tallied 63 yards on 17 carries. The redshirt sophomore running back isn’t the only one in recovery.

Donald Chaney isn’t Miami’s only concern

Miami QB1 Tyler Van Dyke did not play in the Hurricanes’ win over Clemson. Van Dyke’s been battling a right hand injury (his throwing hand) and was forced to miss the game Saturday when something “flared up” later in the week leading up to it.

After the game, Cristobal credited backup QB Emory Williams for hitting the ground running after he didn’t expect to start for most of the week. 

“Emory got the call a little bit later in the week. It was a bit of a surprise to us. We thought we were OK with Tyler,” Cristobal revealed in his postgame presser before praising Williams. 

“But I could’t be more proud of a guy to step in and do things that he did. Early on, the game was a little bit fast, but as he settled and he got better and better, the offensive line and the entire defense—what a performance by those guys.”

Despite the late notice, Williams exceed expectations. Miami’s QB2 completed 24-of-his-33 pass attempts for 151 yards and a touchdown. As for Van Dyke, Cristobal answered that he’s doing fine and will hopefully be able play against Virginia. 

“He is doing well. He was good to go and in the middle of the week it flared up and caught us off guard,” explained the ‘Canes head coach. “It was the right thing to play Emory because he was getting most of the reps. We feel like he will be good to go next week, but I will hold off comment on that until we get back to the training room so I can give you more accurate data.”

On3’s Alex Weber also contributed to this article.