ANN ARBOR, Mich. – What’s up with Michigan football fans who complain about Donovan Edwards?
Seriously, what gives? It‘s not many fans, but it‘s enough that I’m sure you’ve noticed.
Michigan fans sometimes have this weird, toxic trait where they have to tear down one player to build up another. It‘s what happened with the J.J. McCarthy vs. Cade McNamara battle two years ago, and it’s happening again (to a lesser extent) now.
Yeah, we all get it: Kalel Mullings has been better than Edwards this season. That’s objectively true. But why does that have to be more about Edwards than Mullings?
Donovan Edwards is a Michigan football legend. That’s right: a legend. I will die on that hill.
Honestly, what more could any fan base want from a player?
Edwards committed to this program when it was at its lowest point. I’m not sure if you remember Dec. 16, 2020, but the Wolverines had just finished a 2-4 season. They missed a bowl game and Jim Harbaugh took a pay cut because the program was heading down a dark path.
Harbaugh and McCarthy get most of the credit for turning Michigan around, and they deserve it. But Edwards was a critical piece of the puzzle, too.
Alabama wanted him. Georgia wanted him. Ohio State wanted him. Oregon and Penn State and LSU and Texas and Notre Dame and Oklahoma and a whole host of programs that looked much better than Michigan at the time.
But Edwards chose to stay home.
Then, as a freshman, Edwards got just 35 carries because of Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum. This is a borderline five-star talent we‘re talking about, but Edwards didn’t make a fuss. He didn’t jump in the transfer portal. He had his role and thrived in it, rushing for three touchdowns and catching 20 passes for 265 yards and another score.
Remember the Big Ten Championship Game against Iowa? When Michigan was trying to break an 18-year conference title drought? The true freshman delivered one of the most iconic plays of the season: A 75-yard trick play pass to Roman Wilson for a touchdown.
He also rushed for a touchdown and caught three passes in that game.
In the program‘s first playoff game, do you know who led the team in total yardage? It wasn’t Haskins, or Corum, or Wilson. It was Edwards, with three catches for 49 years and four rushes for 16.
The next season, he “split” carries with Corum, though he had just 140 to Corum’s 247. Edwards averaged over 7 yards per carry and finished with 991 rushing yards and 200 receiving yards. He scored nine touchdowns.
But his overall numbers didn‘t define that season. Nah, I’d say it was more about how he single-handedly silenced Ohio Stadium despite playing through two injuries.
Edwards had a bad knee virtually the entire season, but only missed two games until he broke his thumb against Nebraska. That caused him to miss the Illinois game, which, I‘m sure you’ll remember, is when Corum hurt his knee.
So when 11-0 Michigan marched into Columbus to face 11-0 Ohio State with the Big Ten title and a playoff berth on the line, it was Edwards who carried the ball 22 times with a bad knee and a recently broken thumb.
He finished with 216 yards and two touchdowns. The scene in the Horseshoe as he went for 75- and 85-yard touchdowns is one of the most memorable in Michigan program history.
Still not convinced? OK. How about 185 rushing yards in the Big Ten Championship Game? Or 119 rushing yards against TCU in the playoff?
The following year, after he found out last-minute that he still wasn’t going to be the starter, Edwards remained a model teammate and put together another solid, though not statistically remarkable, season behind Corum.
Mullings' emergence at running back didn‘t cut into Corum’s carries. Nope, that directly took away from Edwards. And while he didn’t reach 1,000 total yards for a second-straight year, Edwards did something much, much more important.
He went 15-0. He beat Ohio State. He won a Big Ten title. And he helped earn Michigan’s first national championship in nearly three decades.
Edwards was a primary reason Michigan beat Washington in that national title game. His touchdown runs of 41 and 46 yards in the first quarter were almost entirely born of his own improvisation, and they allowed Michigan to play with a lead for nearly four full quarters.
In a game that was within one possession more than midway through the fourth quarter, that absolutely matters. That 2023 Michigan team was built to play from ahead.
Edwards could have left Michigan and nobody would have blamed him. His legacy, as someone who went 40-3 overall, 5-1 against rivals, 3-0 in the Big Ten Championship Game, and brought home a natty, was more than solidified.
But Edwards committed to a fourth year at Michigan. Say what you want about his NFL prospects -- we’ve seen players with less pro potential leave before.
Edwards struggled in the opener against Fresno State while Mullings shined, and I’ve heard grumbling ever since. Maybe it’s because he was on the cover of NCAA Football or front and center on the Big House programs. But despite a disappointing season from the team, I encourage Michigan fans to remember what Edwards has done -- and is still doing -- for the program.
When 2024 is over, the wins over USC and Michigan State will stand out as highlights. Edwards rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown against USC and made the biggest play of the game against Michigan State.
With Michigan up just six points in the fourth quarter, Edwards took the ball from Davis Warren and threw a dime to Colson Loveland in the end zone. That ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
It‘s another fitting chapter for Edwards. He‘s a player who does whatever is asked of him, and he‘s also a player who wins. Say what you want about his game-to-game consistency -- those two things have never wavered.
What more could you ask of a player than to shine on the biggest stages? What more could you ask for than absolute loyalty in a sport that these days has very little? What more could you want than three Big Ten titles and a natty?
Michigan is heading into what will surely be a frustrating month of November. Losing to Oregon and Indiana won‘t be fun. Watching Ryan Day take out three years’ worth of frustration will be even worse.
But while you’re coping with those maddening moments, miss me with the Donovan Edwards slander. Dozens of decorated players won championships over the past three years. Don’t take it out on the one who stayed.
