Donovan Edwards, Michigan Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/21/22 - RB Donovan Edwards, Sr/2025, Michigan

When Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked about Donovan Edwards at Big Ten media days in July, he described the sophomore running back as a generational player. During generations of Michigan football, no running back in program history has more receiving yards in a single game than Edwards. The former top-50 recruit was billed as a versatile running back coming out of West Bloomfield High, but he didn't get many opportunities to flaunt his dual-threat ability early during his freshman season in 2021. With Blake Corum out with an injury in Week 12 against Maryland, Edwards got his chance and took advantage of it. Splitting time in the backfield with Hassan Haskins, Edwards caught 10 passes for a program-record 170 yards in a 59-18 victory.

Although the 6-foot-1, 204-pounder saw his playing time reduced when Corum returned the following week against Ohio State, Edwards still carved out a role during the final three games, especially in the pass game. Of his 20 receptions last season, 18 came in the final four games. He totaled 265 receiving yards - good for fifth on the team - and added 174 rushing yards on 35 carries. "When I had him in high school, he had a bad injury his sophomore year," said Michigan's receivers coach Ron Bellamy, who also was Edwards' coach at West Bloomfield. "I knew how talented he was; I knew he was a guy that's going to be a high-level college recruit. I vowed to him that we're going to protect him, and we just found various ways to get him the football. Everything didn't have to be inside the tackle box. So, we trained him up as a receiver. We thought that he can be a top-10 receiver in the nation, just as well as he was as a (top-10) running back. I think he took to that, and here he is today. He has that skill set." - Ann Arbor News

Sr/2025