The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1340560
2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE west recruiting analyst Josh Helm- holdt noted. "We have his full senior season film, and we got a full look at him in the playoffs. When we were able to digest that in the broad scope of things, we felt 6.0 was more appro- priate than 5.9. "And just looking at some of the other guys around him, how he stacked up against those guys in the Rivals100, we thought where he is now was more appropriate than where we had him. "West Bloomfield went to the state championship and won by six touch- downs because he has that ability to flip a switch and take over games and be dominant when he needs to. All those things just give us further confi- dence in his ability and skill set." The rankings bump came as no surprise to Bellamy. "He's the most dominant player I've seen in the state in a very long time," he said. "Game plans are cre- ated to stop him. ... He's the best foot- ball player in the state of Michigan." Edwards picked Michigan during the early signing period over offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, USC and a number of other major programs. The decision for the in-state stand- out came down to feeling at home. "I could be a hometown hero," Ed- wards said. "I can stay home. They put together a great 2021 class. They had a great 2020 class on defense. It's all right there for me at Michigan." Edwards sided with the Wolverines during a time of uncertainty. How- ever, Harbaugh signed an extension a few weeks after signing day, which put Edwards and the rest of Michi- gan's 2021 recruiting class at ease. "I was happy," Edwards said. "He put his pen to his paper, just like the recruits did. He told us all along that he was committed to us. As Michigan Despite enrolling at Michigan, Edwards got permission to return to the high school field and take part in his team's state title game, where he ran for a career-high 257 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries in a 41-0 blowout over the defending state champions Jan. 23. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 28 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2021 DONOVAN EDWARDS RUNNING BACK 5-11 • 190 WEST BLOOMFIELD H.S. WEST BLOOMFIELD, MICH. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 58 3 2 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 32 2 1 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 68 4 4 STATISTICS Year Yards TD 2020 1,764 32 2019 1,439 25 HONORS • Named Michigan's Mr. Football by State Champs, and was MLive's run- ner-up for its Michigan High School Football Player of the Year honor. • Tabbed as a Dream Team member as a junior and senior by the Detroit News and Michigan High School Foot- ball Coaches Association. The Detroit Free Press honored him on its Dream Team as a senior, and named him Divi- sion I All-State as a junior and senior. • Named Division I second-team All- State as a sophomore by the Detroit News. • Selected to participate in the Under Armour All-American Game, All-Amer- ican Bowl, Hall of Fame World Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl, all which were canceled. RECRUITMENT • Committed to and signed with Michigan on the first day of the early signing period Dec. 16, 2020. • Also had offers from Alabama, Flor- ida, Georgia, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and many others. • Recruited by then running backs coach Jay Harbaugh. DID YOU KNOW? • Was coached at West Bloomfield by new Michigan wide receivers coach and former Wolverine wideout Ron Bellamy, and played with a pair of U-M redshirt freshmen: safety Makari Paige and linebacker Cornell Wheeler. • Team won four district titles and also reached the state title game as a freshman. • Had 569 receiving yards in his ju- nior season, and four TD grabs as a senior. • Enrolled early at Michigan. 2021 Projection It is probable that Edwards receives early playing time at Michigan, even though there are two proven return- ers in redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins and redshirt freshman Blake Corum. Edwards has great explosion and speed as a runner, but also can catch out of the backfield and in the slot. His maturity as an athlete will make him an early impact player.