Michigan RB Donovan Edwards has the 'fire' back after year of growth

At one of Michigan football’s practices during the 2023 season, running back Donovan Edwards was on one knee with his head down when he felt a sensation.

“I felt the fire just emerging back within my body,” Edwards said Monday.

The West Bloomfield (Mich.) High product was having an interesting season, backing up star Blake Corum and seeing his statistics take a dip after battling back from injuries during the offseason. He was unselfish last season, rushing for 497 yards and 5 touchdowns with 30 receptions for 249 yards, while Corum shined in the lead role.

Edwards said last October that he wasn’t “trippin'” about his slow start to the season. But behind the scenes, he had lost some of his mojo.

“I’ll be honest, I kinda lost it going into my junior year [at Michigan],” Edwards said of his ‘fire.’ “Not feeling great. I’m not getting the carries that I want. But it clicked for me again that the fire in my heart was there again.

“It became evident. There was a practice that it just showed back up. I’m grateful that everything has happened for me, because all it’s going to do is continue to push me as a player and as a man.”

Before the 2023 campaign, Edwards said publicly that he hoped to have a standout season and head to the NFL Draft. But things turned out differently, with the senior now back for one last ride.

“I told Angelique [Chengelis of The Detroit News] that I wanted to leave, but also at the same time, I think that God had humbled me and was like, ‘This isn’t your plan, this is My plan for you,'” Edwards said. “I’ve assessed everything that has happened for me.

“A strength for me last year — nothing football-wise — was just me growing as a man, me facing adversity and hitting it straight on. But the weakness was, ‘How tough am I? How much can I endure?’ Like contact balance for football — how can I improve driving the feet, how can I improve that?”

Edwards referenced his disappointment in not scoring at the goal line in a 52-7 win over Indiana, before the Michigan staff inserted Corum — who punched the ball in the end zone — back into the game. That was a learning lesson as he looks back on it, though, and he’s better off for it.

“There’s stuff that I have to work on, but the confidence aspect as you’re going to continue to have that emerge for me,” the Michigan back said. “But everything last year, I’m blessed that it has happened. 

“There are a lot of things that I have to grow in as a man, and last year just showed me what I need to do. I feel like I’m in a great spot.”

Donovan Edwards 2023 surgery set him back ‘tremendously’

Edwards averaged 4.2 yards per carry last season, one year after that figure was 7.1. He was the star of the Wolverines’ 45-23 win over the Buckeyes in 2022, breaking off two long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter while Corum was on the sideline with an injury. He didn’t score his first touchdown of the 2023 campaign until the aforementioned Indiana game, though, and it was when the Maize and Blue had the game well in hand.

Edwards hasn’t made excuses for some of the struggles last season, but the surgery he underwent last winter on his patellar tendon in his knee definitely slowed his progress as a player. That forced him to miss spring practices, and he wasn’t full go at the beginning of Michigan’s fall camp in August.

“I think that last year’s spring ball, not being able to participate in spring ball, set me back tremendously,” Edwards said. “What spring ball is about is being able to get your confidence, being able to get a feel for the game — and I wasn’t able to get that last year.

“Coming off of a knee surgery, I didn’t start practicing again until August, and I was still having other issues within my body that I’m still working through today.”

Edwards still showed up in the big games, as he’s prone to doing. He ripped off 41- and 46-yard touchdown runs in a 34-13 national championship game win over Washington and had a 22-yard scoring rush on 3rd and 11 at Penn State, a 24-15 victory.

Now, Edwards is rocked up at 214 pounds — up from the 200-pound weight he played at for Michigan last year — and has stepped up as a leader, according to both head coach Sherrone Moore and offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell.

“I feel good now; I feel great,” Edwards said. “I feel like my cuts are looking better, I’m playing better. The speed is back, and the speed is where it needs to be. And I put on 14 more pounds. Being able to stay healthy all of last year and to be able to participate in spring ball right now is just continuing to boost my confidence.”

Corum was at Michigan’s pro day last week, no longer on the Wolverines’ roster. Edwards, graduate Kalel Mullings and others will compete for carries, but the back said he’s much more worried about winning than his snap count.