'Matured' Donovan Edwards ready to be every down running back for Michigan

Donovan Edwards nearly missed out on EA Sports College Football 25.

The Michigan running back did not initially respond to an EA Sports direct message. His NIL representatives instead reached out, telling him EA wanted to make a deal for the upcoming college football video game.

“They said, ‘You’ll be on the cover of the game,'” he recalled at Big Ten media days. “I said, ‘Ooooooooooooooo-ho-ho, oooooweeeee.’ So you know I had to take that deal.”

Plenty has changed for Donovan Edwards in the last eight months. For starters, he’s now pictured everywhere thanks to his video game cover appearance. But he struggled for most of the 2023 season until the national title game against Washington. Edwards had 41 and 46-yard touchdown runs. He finished the game with 104 yards on six carries in the championship game.

The performance has catapulted him back into the spotlight. Blake Corum received the bulk of the carries in 2023. The hero in the College Football Playoff semifinals, Corum set the Michigan single-season record for rushing touchdowns (27) last year.

The every-down back role that Corum filled is now open. Edwards will have the chance in 2024 to be the lead guy. With a new quarterback and key pieces of Michigan’s 2023 offense off to the NFL, the Wolverines will lean on Edwards.

“I think through all the adversity, the emotional and mental struggles that I’ve had the past three years and being able to overcome it, I believe that I’m ready,” he said. “I’ve been able to show glimpses of being a lead guy.”

Edwards emerged as a key contributor to Michigan’s running game in 2022. As a sophomore, he racked up five 100-plus yard games, highlighted by his 216-yard, two-touchdown performance at Ohio State.

But the 6-foot-1, 210-pound back had major knee surgery in February 2023, slowing him down to capitalize on the momentum. Edwards also dealt with wrist injuries from his playing career at West Bloomfield High School. He averaged just 7.9 carries a year ago.

He admitted last month that success as a sophomore could have played a role in his 2023 season.

“I’m always confident, but I may have been a little bit arrogant, especially coming off a great sophomore year,” Edwards said. “I wanted to go to the NFL after that year, but I’ve grown a lot. I’ve matured a lot. You can hear my voice when I’m talking to you. It’s a little bit more fluid, but I’m also me at the end of the day. So, I’ve definitely matured and grown up more.”

Michigan beat Washington 31-10 on Sept. 11, 2021, at the Big House. Edwards was a true freshman, behind Hassan Haskins and Corum on the depth chart. But the game still sticks with Donovan Edwards. Not for what he accomplished, but what he didn’t.

He received just one carry in the game, a four-yard carry. The running back said he cried in the locker room after that game. He went on to have three rushing touchdowns that season, carving out playing time.

“I’ve always been hungry, and I’ve always been in a backup role my whole career here at Michigan,” Edwards said. “I’ve always been the No. 1 guy, and I’ve always been (used to) having my number called on. So, I had to take a backseat to that.

“Most people I believe would have transferred out, but I wasn’t. I was going to stay the course and stay patient. And ultimately, it’s going to pay off for me.”

Donovan Edwards will be viewed as the leader of this Michigan team in 2024. The Wolverines opened up training camp earlier this week.

For the running back, he will be given every opportunity to prove himself on a national stage. Blake Corum is gone. Now it is Edwards’ time to be the every-down back who leads the running back room. EA Sports has invested in him. He proved he could still make game-changing runs in the national title game.

Sherrone Moore was the secondary recruiter for Donovan Edwards as a recruit. The Michigan head coach believes he’s ready to take that next step.

“He’s the same energetic person he’s been since I saw him walking in high school in the hallways,” Moore said. “Dapping everybody up, smiling, laughing. On the field, making the plays. He’s just become more mature. Grown in his spirituality and his faith. That’s probably the biggest thing.

“… Now he’s a leader of men in college and has done a really good job of that.”