Michigan captain Donovan Edwards still trusting in coaching staff, quarterbacks

ANN ARBOR – Michigan Wolverines captain and running back Donovan Edwards is a tone-setter for the program but has been part of a group that has watched its season slip away with back-to-back losses and a 4-3 record.

Plenty of people want to point fingers and try to diagnose what ails them, but Edwards opened his Monday press conference by first pointing it at himself.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Edwards said. “Especially just me always being hard on myself. I have two fumbles this year, which is not good. It’s just the small things that we always have to get better at. We just have to continue to win the day today. I live by a Kobe Bryant quote that says, ‘It’s a constant quest to be better today than you were yesterday and to make a better tomorrow than today.’

“So that’s kind of the model that we have to live by. And every single week, every single day we have to get better. Every single week we have to get better.”

Michigan’s coaching staff has come under fire for its inability to get the most out of the roster and put the players in a position to succeed. Edwards is not going there, though, and says that head coach Sherone Moore and the staff still have the respect and attention of the players in the building.

“Of course we do,” Edwards said. “That’s why Coach Moore has brought these guys like Coach Wink, who’s been in the NFL for a long time probably longer than I’ve been born. We trust them because they’ve had ultimate success. [Tony Alford] has coached first-round running backs, why wouldn’t I have trust in him? Why wouldn’t I have trust in my former [West Bloomfield high] head coach coach Bellamy? Why wouldn’t I have trust in a quarterbacks coach who just produced the first-round pick in J.J. McCarthy? Why wouldn’t we trust our coaches? That’s just me personally.”

Moore did not name a starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against Michigan State during his Monday press conference, but Edwards does not see that as a big deal in terms of how they prepare. He believes the signal-callers are still among the best-prepared players on the roster.

“Just like how I said months ago, we’re always going to continue to encourage whoever is out there on the football field. Don’t care who it is because we know that we have faith and trust and confidence in. them, especially since the quarterback is so demanding. Every guy that’s in the quarterback room, Kirk Campbell has done a great job of preparing them for the opportunity and not going to lie, they’re probably the, they’re definitely the best position group [in terms of being] most prepared for the game and they know everything. They know every play, they know what’s going to come. If a formation is up They could call the play within the formation. That goes for everybody in that quarterback room.

“Regardless of who it is, I’m going to support them. I’m going to have their back and everybody else amongst the offense are going to have their backs too.”

Edwards was asked if Michigan was overrated heading into the season coming off a 15-0 year that ended in a national championship. Sitting at 4-3, Edwards still looks at every game like one that his team has a chance to win, but also that the game of football has a way of humbling you.

“Absolutely not,” Edwards said. “Because I looked at the schedule myself and said we shouldn’t lose the game this year. That’s what I said before the season. You should always have that kind of confidence and that kind of expectation. So absolutely not. I look across the board, every guy among our team is a draft pick. It’s not unfair to say that.

“It happens within the game. You win games, you lose games. This is Michigan, it’s a winning program, man. We’re always expected to win, but ultimately, it sucks to say, but you can’t win every single game. But we’re always going to try our absolute best every single week to win every single game, so, you know, I have faith in that.”

Michigan and Michigan State kick off on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with Big Ten Network on the broadcast.