The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1340560
26 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2021 BY EJ HOLLAND D onovan Edwards had the craziest week of his life to kick off the new year. After a 2020 that saw a global pandemic, the state of Michi- gan pause, cancel and restart high school football on several occasions, and a nerve-wrecking recruiting pro- cess that gave him almost no per- sonal time, Edwards finally appeared to be settling down. The consensus top-100 running back signed with Michigan during the early period and was set to en- roll in January before the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) announced that the state football playoffs would resume that month, too. Edwards helped West Bloomfield (Mich.) High knock off Romeo High in the state quarterfinals, which set up a rematch with Belleville High, the team that knocked Edwards and his teammates out of the postseason a year ago. The only problem: Edwards had al- ready graduated and was set to move in at Michigan the day of the game as an early enrollee. The MHSAA ruled in favor of let- ting him play despite no longer be- ing a student at West Bloomfield. The star rusher then switched his move-in day up by 24 hours, so he could play against Belleville on Saturday. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was fully supportive of Edwards re- joining his high school team for its final playoff games. "When we had our conversation with Coach Harbaugh, he gave Dono- van his blessing to play," said Ron Bellamy, who was the head coach at West Bloomfield this past season be- fore taking an assistant job at Michi- gan. "He's like, 'You should be play- ing football with your team, finishing this thing out.' "As long as he was allowed to play, through the NCAA and the MHSAA, he was going to play." In that contest against Belleville, Ed- wards rushed for 155 yards and scored three touchdowns in a dramatic dou- ble-overtime win to help West Bloom- field punch its ticket to the state cham- pionship game at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. "This had been the goal all season," Edwards said after the game. "We reached it. It's a dream come true. It doesn't even feel real. We worked so hard. It's unbelievable." But the journey wasn't over for Ed- wards and West Bloomfield just yet. And neither was that crazy week. Edwards started classes at Michi- gan the following Tuesday, just three days after the win over Belleville. The first week of class can be stressful for any college student, but he not only adapted in a hurry, he also practiced with his prep team over the next few days and got ready to win a ring. That Saturday, Edwards had the game of his life, rushing for a career- high 257 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries in a 41-0 thrashing of Davison High, the division's defend- ing state champions. His rushing total was the most ever in a Division I/Class A title game, and it stands fifth all time regardless of division. Most impressively, it came against a defense that had allowed just 725 yards (3.34 yards per carry) and five touchdowns on the ground coming into the contest. The star back could have easily opted out to protect himself from in- jury. After all, Edwards was one of Michigan's top-rated signees. Instead, his warrior mentality was on full dis- play. He put his team first and came out a champion. "I was just embracing the moment," said Edwards, who took a knee after the state title win instead of rushing the field. "I was thanking God for the opportunity that led us here. I talk to God every day. I just said, 'Thank you for the opportunity, the moment and everything that you endured for us.'" The fact that Edwards came back to West Bloomfield and finished what he started was no surprise to Bellamy. A team captain and leader of the program, he is one of the most selfless and competitive people you'll ever meet. His return to West Bloomfield had a fairy tale ending, but there is nothing fictional about Edwards. What you see is what you get. And Michigan is going to love what they got. "He fits the culture of Michigan," Bellamy said. "We ran our program very similarly to how it is at Michigan — we stress academics and character development. I think he felt the most comfortable there. What he did here is what he's going to do there. Compete, compete, compete — that's who he is. "Michigan sees a warrior. They see a competitor. They see a kid that wants to, from day one, push that running back room. He's going to make that running back room better." Along with being a remarkable leader and competitor, Edwards is one of the top incoming freshmen in all of America. The blue-chip prospect rushed for 1,764 yards and 32 touch- downs in 12 games as a senior and was named Michigan's Mr. Football. He was especially spectacular down the stretch, rushing for 607 yards and nine touchdowns in West Bloomfield's final three games, in- cluding the state championship (in which he only played three quarters). The strong end to his final high school campaign helped Edwards make a late surge in the final Rivals. com national recruiting rankings. Edwards shot up from the No. 74 overall prospect nationally to No. 58 and was bumped up to a 6.0 four-star recruit (five-star recruits are given 6.1 ratings) by Rivals. Edwards also fin- ished as the No. 3-ranked running back in the country. "Certainly the postseason play fac- tored into it, but Donovan's always been a guy right on the cusp of a 5.9 and 6.0 Rivals ranking," Rivals Mid- HOMETOWN HERO Stud In-State Running Back Donovan Edwards Can Make An Immediate Impact With The Wolverines Edwards rushed for 1,764 yards and 32 touchdowns in 12 games as a senior, lead- ing his team to its first-ever state title. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE