Wake Forest wide receiver Donavon Greene will miss three to five months

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have announced that wide receiver Donavon Greene will miss three to five months of the 2023 season. This comes after he suffered a non-contact injury on the first day of Fall Camp.

Greene is one of the best receivers in the ACC and will be a huge loss for Wake Forest. The non-contact injury he suffered was to his knee.

“Donavon Greene is a great player and an even better person,” head coach Dave Clawson said. “He will play a key role off the field this season as he works towards a speedy and safe recovery in the coming months.”

A redshirt junior, Greene was named to the 2023 Maxwell Award Watch List. He’s also shown improvement throughout his career, culminating in a phenomenal 2022 season. Last season, he snagged 37 receptions for 642 yards and six touchdowns. Over the course of his career, Greene has proven to be a talented deep threat, averaging 18.6 yards per reception.

Despite only being a redshirt junior, Donavon Greene has been on campus since 2019, making him a key presence on the roster. He played four games in 2019, preserving his redshirt before the pandemic-impacted season that allowed him to retain an extra year of eligibility. He then came into the 2021 season with high expectations but ultimately missed the entire season due to injuries.

Unfortunately, injuries are starting to become part of Greene’s story and he will be back by the middle of the season at the earliest.

On top of his skills at wide receiver, Greene also returns kicks and is phenomenal at it for Wake Forest. Now, Dave Clawson is going to need to replace his top receiver and kick returner with less than a month before the season begins.

The Demon Deacons open their season against Elon. So, at the very least, Wake Forest will start against an FCS opponent to try and ease Greene’s replacement into the lineup.

Dave Clawson believes Mitch Griffis is ‘ready to go’ as Wake Forest’s starting quarterback

Along with finding a replacement for Donavon Greene, Dave Clawson already had to replace star quarterback Sam Hartman. Luckily, he believes Mitch Griffis is ready to step in and fill that gap.

“When you talk about quarterbacks, they have to have more than one attribute. I think with Mitch there’s a very complete skill set,” Clawson said. “He is extremely accurate. He has good arm strength. He is athletic. He has really good instincts, great work ethic, super teammate, and he is genuine.”