Michigan football: How Donovan Edwards has been prepped for expanded pass-catching role
Michigan football’s offense should excite with plenty of options at the skill positions. One in particular has everyone with a vested interest in the program anxious to see what he can do. That man, of course, is sophomore running back Donovan Edwards.
Edwards should help replace much of what the team loses from Hassan Haskins’ departure on the ground, but the value he brings extends to the receiving game. Michigan got 20 catches for 265 yards and a touchdown out of him last season. That role is expected to expand.
Versatile skillsets could make the Michigan offense more dangerous this year. Wide receivers coach (and former Edwards high school coach) Ron Bellamy addressed it on Tuesday morning.
“I had Donovan in high school, we used him out as a receiver,” he said. “So that trait is carried on into college. And then you go back and look at A.J.’s high school film, he played a lot of running back. A.J. moved all over the field, and played a little quarterback. So those two guys can do a multitude of things. And you don’t miss a beat. And like I said, they both are explosive, both great, but with the ball in their hands. And the thing is, they both have a high-level understanding of football. And you could do a lot of creative things when you have guys with that skill set.”
Cross-training could make Edwards a Michigan star
Edwards’ ability to both rush and catch the ball made him one of the most sought after recruits in the country. His cross-training at wideout is what helped kick his game to the next level by necessity.
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“One of the things when I had him in high school, he had a bad injury his sophomore year,” Bellamy said. “And one of the things I knew how talented he was, I knew he was a guy that’s going to be a high-level college recruit. And I vowed to him that we’re going to protect them. And we just found various ways to get him to football, everything didn’t have to be inside to tackle box. So, we trained him up as a receiver. And we thought that he can be a top 10 receiver in the nation, just as well as he was as a running back. And I think, he took to that and here he is today. He has that skill set.
His offensive coordinator, Sherrone Moore, recently addressed what he brings to the offense. The mentality and energy he adds to the room packaged with his toolbox makes him an intriguing X-factor for the 2022 Michigan team.
“The first thing he brings is energy, because if he walked through right now, you’d probably hear him yelling,” Moore said. “Just the energy, the presence that he has, he has an infectious personality. He’s an electric player, and he’s still learning to do things, he’s by no means a finished product. So he continues to strive to get better, and he just wants to be pushed to get better. But he has a great skill set, a great toolset to be an elite player in college football. And we have higher expectations of him and he has high expectations of himself. So I’ll just continue to push him to try to get better.”
