Donovan Varner’s 64-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter Saturday against Virginia made history as it vaulted Varner into a tie with former Blue Devil Clarkston Hines with 189 career receptions.
“Just catch the ball, get vertical and score,” Varner said when asked what was on his mind when he caught the pass. “Don’t let anybody catch you. I just ran as hard as I could.”
Varner then broke the record just minutes later with a 21-yard reception. He finished the game with seven catches for 132 yards, his highest yardage total since the 2009 season finale when he racked up an impressive 174 yards on 11 catches against Wake Forest.
The performance against the Demon Deacons highlighted a breakout sophomore year for the receiver. After recording 65 catches as a sophomore and 60 as a junior, Varner set 60 receptions as his personal goal coming into final season.
“I didn’t realize until late in my junior year... that I was getting close to the record,” Varner said.
Although he has been one of the most consistent performers in the conference over the last three years, Duke was the only team willing to promise Varner a role in the offense when he committed out of high school.
“Coming out [of high school], I knew I wanted to play on the offensive side of the ball,” Varner said. “[Head coach David Cutcliffe] came to my house and explained to me how his offense works.”
Primarily a cornerback in high school, Varner saw offensive snaps as a running back on screen passes where his coaches looked to use his quickness and agility to surprise defenses. Varner believes that his experience playing in the secondary has helped him as a playmaker on offense.
“I know a lot of the tendencies of a cornerback and how they read plays,” he explained. “I know their eyes get them beat a lot so I try to set them up with nice moves. I think it also helps me from a physicality standpoint.”
Though he is listed generously at 5-foot-9, Varner does not back down from bigger defenders.
“A lot of receivers don’t like to block and don’t block,” Varner said. “I take pride in it. Being small, a lot of people doubt me. I show them whose really big out there. I’m big in the heart and I’m physical out there.”
Varner’s strength and toughness are not only exhibited as a blocker, but also when he runs routes fearlessly into the middle of the field. He attributes his ability to work in traffic to his teammates and coaches from his pre-college playing days. They instilled in him that it is unacceptable to be afraid of being hit. His fellow pass catchers admire this characteristic and the younger players look up to him.
“In the Virginia game last year on 4th-and-20, he caught a 22-yard pass across the middle in traffic with lots of defenders around him,” redshirt freshman tight end Braxton Deaver said. “You just look at that, and you say that’s what a playmaker does.”
Varner hopes to take his playmaking ability to the next level. After graduating in December, Varner will move back to Miami to begin training for the NFL combine and individual franchise pro days. He has a mutual connection with three-time Pro Bowl slot receiver Wes Welker and hopes to work out with him to further develop his technique.
Unfortunately for Varner, his record may not hold for long, as junior Conner Vernon, his teammate since high school, is only seven catches behind with another year of eligbility remaining. Cutcliffe joked around with the duo at halftime of the Virginia game, saying Vernon was right behind Varner. Although the locker room was lighthearted about the competition for the achievement, Cutcliffe knows that Varner’s absence will leave a void next year.
“He’s one of them that you miss when they finish, not just because of his statistics,” Cutcliffe said. “You miss Don because Don’s just there every day in practice. Day, after day, after day. I’ll miss Don when he’s done, not just his play, but his presence on our squad.”
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