The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 19 ❱ MICHIGAN FOOTBALL "Another undersized prospect with great speed, Stewart was explosive off the edge in one-on-one drills, and mul- tiple offensive tackles had trouble stay- ing in front of him," Cox wrote. "He's not just a speed guy, though. He has strong hands that can fight through the grip of blockers trying to slow him down." Edwards, meanwhile, impressed as a receiver during one-on-one drills. "Donovan Edwards been crushing linebackers in this drill for two days," Miami Dolphins columnist Chris Per- kins posted. "I feel like I had a really good day out here," Edwards said after one practice, later adding, "the first thing that I bring is the pass protection aspect. Being able to pass protect first, identify blitzes and watching safeties and the rotations, and knowing the defensive schemes. Also, I just believe in myself. I have tremen- dous faith and confidence in not only my hands but my route-running ability, too." Finally, Wagner performed well, too, during his drills as one of only two long- snapping specialists invited. "I feel like there's always a chance we'll get drafted," he told AL.com. "The last one to get drafted was actually [Cam] Cheeseman from Michigan, so the guy who played there before me. Especially for specialists, you don't really know." — Chris Balas NINE WOLVERINES INVITED TO 2025 NFL SCOUTING COMBINE One year after breaking the record with 18 athletes at the NFL Draft Scout- ing Combine, nine U-M standouts were among the 329 players invited to the 2025 event, which will be held Feb. 24 through March 3 in Indianapolis. The U-M players who received invites are running back Donovan Edwards, running back Kalel Mullings, tight end Colston Loveland, offensive tackle Myles Hinton, defensive tackle Mason Graham, defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, edge Jo- saiah Stewart, cornerback Will Johnson and long snapper William Wagner. Last year, 13 U-M players were drafted, including seven top-100 picks — both program records. This will be the first draft class sent to the NFL under current head coach Sherrone Moore. — Clayton Sayfie WINK MARTINDALE INTERVIEWS FOR NFL JOBS, BUT SEEMS DESTINED TO RETURN Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has interviewed with the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Fal- cons and most recently the New Orleans Saints, but it appears he'll be headed back to Ann Arbor next year. The Colts and Falcons filled their positions with other candidates, and when the Saints hired Philadelphia Eagles offensive coor- dinator Kellen Moore as their head coach instead of New York offensive coordina- tor Mike Kafka — who it's been specu- lated would have brought Martindale with him as his defensive coordinator — that left no current openings around the league. While Martindale had a great season in Ann Arbor, he seemed to indicate this fall he was a bit turned off by the changing nature of college football. He appeared disillusioned by how the game had changed in the 20 years since he'd been away while meeting with reporters. "The thing that's crazy now, it's not just recruiting — it's money," Martindale said. "That puts a whole different twist to it. When they start talking money, I just say, 'Yeah, we'll get to it,' and I don't even think about it," he said. "But let's make no mistake about it — and I do know this just from listening — when somebody says money's not important … money's important." It's important to him, too, he told us in April during a preseason interview. If someone were to back the "Brinks truck" up to him, he said then, he'd listen, and he told Moore that, as well. While he's got gas left in the tank, he also has to be thinking about his immediate future. "When you're 61, you just try to think about tomorrow," he said in early No- vember. "I'm glad that I'm here. I love the players that we have. I think it's obvi- ously a different game …" But after the win over Ohio State, he added, "You saw a bunch of kids that came together and said, 'We're going to play our tails off and take care of what we handle.' That's all they can do. So, it was a great experience for them. It was a great experience for me … one of the most rewarding experiences that I've had, personally, coaching, just because of where we came from." — Chris Balas After a strong week at Senior Bowl practices, edge rusher Josaiah Stewart was listed as the No. 46 overall draft prospect on NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah's big board. PHOTO COURTESY REESE'S SENIOR BOWL