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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Back in 2018, when we were first launching WolverinesWire, I was at an SMSB 7-on-7 tournament featuring many of the local powerhouse high schools, which is when I started developing a relationship with former West Bloomfield head coach Ron Bellamy. Of course, West Bloomfield had many top targets that Michigan was pursuing, like current safety Makari Paige and linebacker Lance Dixon who started at Penn State before transferring to West Virginia.
It was the next spring that I was back to interview Paige when I asked Bellamy, ‘Who should I be talking to?’ His answer was simple: ‘Donovan Edwards will be the best recruit I’ll have ever had at the high school level.’
That was before Edwards became a household name in recruiting circles, targeted by every major school in the country. Nick Saban would show up at his high school and frequently called to check in on him. Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio State were all in hot pursuit. Michigan was behind for a time in his recruitment, but eventually picked up the pace and as able to reel him in on early signing day.
So it’s been something of a journey — not just for Edwards, but for Bellamy, who signed on to coach Michigan’s safeties not so long after his star running back signed in Dec. 2020. First coming aboard as Michigan’s new wide receivers coach on Jan. 23, Bellamy switched to safeties coach just before spring ball when linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary abruptly parted for Tennessee.
Though he might be on the other side of the ball, seeing Edwards score his first (of two) Michigan touchdowns this past weekend was something to behold.
“Not gonna lie — I felt like a proud uncle!” Bellamy said. “I’ve said this before: Donovan and I have been together — I’ve known him since the third grade. We have such a strong bond and relationship. I’m in the press box and you can just see on the field when one’s gonna break and I know he’s the ultimate competitor and I know what he felt, that ‘whew!’ That sigh of relief when he got into the end zone for the first time.
“He’s a special talent. What I love most about Donovan is when he’s not getting the early carries, he’s cheering on Hassan and Blake. That’s two great mentors for him. Donovan’s gonna keep growing and developing. It was awesome watching him get into the end zone. It was special for me with our relationship.”
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Of course, Bellamy has had a storied career as a player, himself. A Louisiana native, he came north to Michigan before playing for the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions in the NFL.
With that in mind, is there a player that Edwards reminds him of?
Bellamy had to dig deep to a player that didn’t really shine in his time in Ann Arbor, but eventually made some noise at USC and eventually the Oakland Raiders.
“He’s unique. He’s definitely unique in a sense that, like I said, I’ve been around him, so I know some of the things that haven’t been unveiled yet. I know what he’s capable of doing,” Bellamy said. “I literally just had this conversation with the defensive coaches. We were talking about Big Ten running backs and just how the makeup of the running back has changed. You go from the Wheatley and Biakabutukas — bigger guys — and the Chris Perrys and the A-Trains and you go from that and more into the scat-back type of guys. Blake — and though Blake is a shorter guy, he’s put together and an explosive guy. Donovan is kind of in the same realm as Blake. Those guys are more explosive than any of the guys that I played with.
“Justin Fargas would probably be the closest, but we didn’t get a chance to really see him fully develop himself at Michigan. But obviously, he went to SC and became that player we thought he could be. I would say that Donovan would be the closest to Fargas. Blast from the past, right?”
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