Ron Bellamy – Page 2 – Syndication Server

What receivers will step up for Michigan football in 2023?

It’s perhaps the only position group that’s somewhat unknown entering the season. #GoBlue

It’s not an entirely different premise for Michigan football to trot out Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson as the top two receivers. That will be the case for the Wolverines in 2023, as it was for the bulk of the 2021 season after Ronnie Bell went down with an ACL injury in the season opener. But a team cannot subsist with just two receivers, which means that others will need to step up this year.

There are myriad options for the maize and blue. Especially because Bell’s departure for the NFL wasn’t the only one — Andrel Anthony transferred to Oklahoma this offseason, as well. That means that pretty much anyone who gets some run in 2023 will be something of a newer contributor.

There are several candidates who could play big roles. Wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy spoke with Jon Jansen on the ‘In the Trenches’ podcast this week to break down the candidates.

“Tyler Morris — coach and I’ve joked that Tyler switched from 13 to 8, and it’s like man — he gives you the Ronnie Bell vibes,” Bellamy said. “Tyler’s his own man, but you see that No. 8 has been around Michigan football a long time and now in (you see him in) No. 8 and making some of those acrobatic Ronnie Bell catches or jumping over someone to go catch a contested ball. I remember once Coach and I looked at each other and it’s like, ‘Ronnie Bell!’

“He has that mentality, he has that Junkyard Dog mentality — ‘I’m gonna do anything coach! I can go run a dig knowing I’m gonna get hit’ or, ‘I’m gonna go in there and block the end, I’m gonna go block a backer, go get the safety.’ Whatever it is, Tyler’s that kind of guy. He’s scrappy — very, very scrappy player and that’s one of the things we love about him.

“And then you got D.C., you got Darrius Clemons, who had a great spring his own in his own right. Big target, 6-foot-4 guy that’s one of the fastest guys on our team. Darrius hs really added more tools to his toolbox this offseason. I’m excited to see what he does this camp and just having guys like that around.

“Cristian Dixon had a solid spring ball and another bigger receiver. Guy that’s been around here for a few years and just kind of continues to develop himself and he’s ready for his opportunity. And we talked about Peyton (O’Leary) and the young guys, some of the young guys have really stepped up — Semaj Morgan, Fredrick Moore put themselves, opened some eyes this spring. Like, ‘Oh, man, these guys, alright, they got a shot to be pretty good.'”

The aforementioned Peyton O’Leary is an interesting candidate. A former walk-on who broke out in the spring game (6 catches, 126 yards, a two-point conversion), the former lacrosse player earned copious praise from Jim Harbaugh last offseason, which prompted many he could be an X-factor in 2022. However, he had just one catch for four yards last year.

Bellamy is confident that he’ll play a much bigger role in 2023, noting that he’s on track to being not just a contributor, but a factor this year.

“Peyton is doing things the right way,” Bellamy said. “A big-time effort guy but with skill. If anyone knows Peyton’s background, Peyton is originally from Massachusetts, and they didn’t have football during COVID — he was a lacrosse guy. So Peyton was going to play lacrosse in if they had football, his senior year in Massachusetts, I’m pretty certain — Peyton and I have talked about this — he would have had a laundry list of offers, opportunities.

“But fortunately for us, it worked out in our favor with Peyton. Peyton’s here in Michigan and gave up lacrosse and he’s no slouch. Peyton can ball. And it’s fun out there watching him make plays.”

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Michigan football WR Roman Wilson has special ability that needs to be unlocked

He has the potential, it just needs to be unlocked and utilized! #GoBlue

Last year entering the 2022 college football season, on paper, Michigan football had one of the more impressive wide receiver groups. However, it was the running backs room that ended up impressing during the year.

Now, with Ronnie Bell gone to the NFL draft and Andrel Anthony having transferred to Oklahoma, the unit doesn’t look quite as good on paper, even if it is similar to what we saw in 2021.

That year, with Bell injured, it was Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson leading the charge in the aerial attack, and they’ll be counted on similarly in 2023. While Johnson has been a household name and steady (though streaky) in his career, Wilson has the potential to be an X-factor for the Wolverines.

A speedster from Hawaii, we’ve long called Wilson a ‘lite’ or ‘diet version’ of enigmatic receiver DeVonta Smith, the Alabama receiver who won the Heisman Trophy in 2020. The two have similar skill sets and body types, yet Wilson hasn’t yet really broken out.

This offseason, his position coach, Ron Bellamy, is challenging him to reach his full potential, now that he’ll be fully counted on entering his senior year. He shared more with Jon Jansen on the ‘In the Trenches’ podcast.

“To be the best, the most dynamic playmaker that he can be,” Bellamy said of his goals for Wilson. “For Roman, we talked about some of those things that, when you watch his skillset is — both guys (Wilson and Cornelius Johnson) have unbelievable skill sets. Just going back and watching this past season and making some cut-ups of the receivers and whatnot, and you can see some of the things that Cornelius — his movement skills are elite. Some of the things that he does. And you watch Roman and you say, ‘Man, this guy is (special.)'”

But what makes him so special?

While we made our own comparison (which isn’t something anyone on the Michigan staff is wont to do), Bellamy dug into the different facets of Wilson’s game that should showcase just how elite he could be if they all come to fruition in games.

“You watch his game and you can watch how it’s hard for guys to cover him,” Bellamy said. “He can beat you and he could catch a shallow route and go 80. He could catch a slant. He can run a post, he can go dig. He’s proven all that he can get an end-around.

“Roman has a complete skillset and he’s been able to utilize that. Roman is a big believer. Roman knows that he’s a special football player, but now just challenge him to be the most dynamic football player in America. That’s something that he’s chasing every day.”

Fans got a chance to see Wilson take advantage of his unique ability as the Wolverines worked to come back in the College Football Playoff semifinal against TCU. Now, he just needs to showcase his ability on a game-by-game basis.

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Why Ron Bellamy believes J.J. McCarthy ‘is the best QB in America’

Can’t wait to see what he does this year! #GoBlue

Even outside of Ann Arbor, there’s a lot of optimism surrounding Michigan football entering the 2023 college football season.

With a ton of talent returning, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, it’s not hard to see why. But the onus of that side of the ball’s performance may rest on one person — junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Sure, the Wolverines have two enigmatic running backs in Blake Corum (who was a Heisman contender in 2022) and a now-healthy Donovan Edwards. Either could put the team on his back and help propel the maize and blue in a game. But, as we’ve seen, it’s a quarterback-driven sport, and if Michigan wants to win a national championship, it will likely be due to McCarthy elevating his game in year three.

Speaking to Jon Jansen on the ‘In the Trenches’ podcast, Michigan wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy is elated about the strides that McCarthy has made in spring ball, noting that he’s come a long way in terms of connecting with his teammates.

“J.J. is one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around,” Bellamy said. “He had a great spring. Yeah, we start off with the quarterback — that’s the leader of your offense.”

So, what’s made McCarthy so good in his leadership position? For one, Bellamy says that he has the coaches’ trust.

“Well just make sure thing is — if the coaches weren’t there what would it look like?” Bellamy said. “You can visualize that and J.J. is a kid that can lead to the operation. You watch him out there talking to his teammates, pulling the receiver aside, and kind of walking through things with them. Or just taking accountability, even if a receiver may have not caught a ball or something of that nature. He is like, ‘I’ll get it there.’ It’s like, no, we’ll get there.

“And those are signs that you look for. Like, man — this kid gets it. Coach Campbell has done a fantastic job with J.J. We love J.J. — he’s the heart and soul of our football team.”

While leadership is certainly a big factor, it isn’t everything. You can be a great leader, but if you can’t play, then it doesn’t account for much.

Bellamy further broke down what makes McCarthy such a great asset to the Wolverines before giving him the ultimate compliment.

“What makes J.J. a great quarterback, outside of his leadership skills, is his talent,” Bellamy said. “J.J. can make every throw. He can make every throw and the most dangerous part about J.J. is he can extend plays. Receivers love that, right? DBs lose sight of receivers and you run it down the field open.

“But J.J. is a complete quarterback and just watching him go through progressions, just watching him — whatever the coaches put on his plate, he was able to chew it up and digest it and then go out there on the field and execute it.

“So, we’re super excited about J.J., especially as a football team. But, in particular, in our receiver room, we know that we have the best quarterback in America.”

Fans will get to see McCarthy in action on Sept. 2 when the Wolverines open up the 2023 season against East Carolina.

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Ron Bellamy compares three Wolverine WR’s to former Michigan greats

If #Michigan can get this type of production from the receivers, watch out! #GoBlue

Michigan receivers coach Ron Bellamy played for the Wolverines from 1999-2002. During his playing days in Ann Arbor, he tallied 888 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

When Bellamy was hired before the 2021 season from West Bloomfield — where he was the head coach and had led the Lakers to a state title — the Wolverines asked Bellamy to take over as the safeties coach. The former Michigan receiver helped lead the group to a top-30 pass defense.

Now entering his second season with the maize and blue, Bellamy is back with the receivers. The second-year coach admits he is more comfortable with the receivers, but he told the media on Wednesday that he can view things a little different after coaching the secondary for a full season.

“It’s been awesome,” said Bellamy. “I can speak for myself going from defense to offense is — obviously, I’m most comfortable at receivers, it’s the position that I played for a long time, and being on the defensive side of the ball, yes, you know coverages and different things to that. But learning what the fronts are doing, learning with the linebackers and doing, the edge mechanics, and now being on offense and seeing it and giving input in meetings and, like, ‘Hey, they’re doing this because of this,’ or think the way I see it, it’s definitely opened my eyes, in the game. Some of the things that I had an idea that I thought I knew, that I was great at understanding, but I really have a better understanding of things. And I think from a coaching standpoint, having some success last year, coach moved Jay over there to the defensive side of the ball, and it’s been great for him. He’s just kind of going through the same transition that I went through last year. But it’s been great. Our coaching staff, we have a strong brotherhood, a great camaraderie with one another.”

Bellamy has an embarrassment of riches at his position group. The Wolverines return every receiver, save for Daylen Baldwin, from last season. Michigan also returns Ronnie Bell, who was injured in the first game of 2021, and the maize and blue have three highly touted freshmen for 2022.

Bellamy knows all about playing alongside talented receivers. During his tenure at Michigan, he had the pleasure of playing with Braylon Edwards, Jason Avant, Steve Breaston, David Terrell and Marquise Walker. That’s quite a list.

When Bellamy was asked about Andrel Anthony, Bellamy told the media that Anthony wants to model his game on former Michigan legend Braylon Edwards. He says Anthony not only wants to be a physical threat, but he wants to know the ins and outs of the game. Last year, during the Michigan State game, we saw some Edwards type of flashes when Anthony caught 155 yards and two scores.

“Yeah, well, I’ve known about Andrel in high school,” said Bellamy. “I’ve been following him since he was in high school to where he is today, and one of the biggest things with Andrel, he’s understanding the game of football.”

“He challenges himself to do everything right, from not only just being a vertical threat or a guy that just flashes athleticism,” Bellamy continued. “He wants to know the ins and outs of the game. Andrel wants to know, how can he be a more dominant blocker. He looked in my room — I have my six pictures, and it’s Steve Breaston, Jason Avant, it’s Marquise Walker, David Terrell and Braylon Edward. And those were the core guys I played with at Michigan and — just a history lesson for the boys, anytime they come in the office, we talk about the legacy of Michigan football and the great tradition of wide receiver play. Andrel, one of the guys that he wants to emulate his Braylon, the things that Braylon’s done on the field and if you look at it they’re very similar — body structure and — I can obviously share stories because I played with Braylon for two years and just how brilliant he attacked the game and Andrel wants to add that to his game”

After telling the media that Andrel Anthony wants to emulate Edwards, Bellamy was asked if anyone reminded him of Steve Breaston. Bellamy said there are a few players, but Ronnie Bell really reminds him of the old speedster. Bellamy says both Bell and Breaston are hard to tackle, and they both are savvy.

“There’s a few guys — Ronnie has a little Steve Breaston in him,” said Bellamy. “Very slippery, deceiving. I tease him, Steve had that awkward running, but he always runs away from you, and he’s hard to tackle and Ronnie’s the same way. Steve’s probably a little taller than Ronnie but very, very, very savvy football players that are deceptive with their speed and elusiveness.”

Lastly, Bellamy was asked if anyone reminded him of Jason Avant. Avant is now part of the Michigan broadcast team for football games, but he had a successful college and pro football career with the Wolverines and the Philadelphia Eagles. Bellamy told the media freshman Darrius Clemons reminds him of a young Avant. Bellamy says Clemons is strong like an ox, he’s explosive and loves contact — just like Avant did.

“Oh, that’s a great question. Darrius Clemons right now, the young buck,” said Bellamy. “Now he’s not as polished as Jason, but he will be. He will be. But he’s the guy that — ‘Coach, watch this!’ He’s that guy that — he’s a bigger guy, 210 and now he’s strong as an ox, is explosive and he loves contact. Jason was like that. Jason and I played together here and as Jason was learning how to be a receiver before he was catching passes and running routes, Jason was the guy that would dig the safeties out, go block linebackers, kind of do the dirty work, per se. And Darrius is that guy that say, ‘Coach put me in, I don’t care if it’s to block, put me in.’ No, he’s that guy right now that kind of carries that torch and it’s pretty cool for a young guy to kind of carry that torch and the guys know about Jason, as well. He spoke to the team and they’ve seen videos of Jason, so D.C. is that guy right now.”

Michigan fans know what they have with Bell, he did lead the team in receiving yards for two seasons, but if Anthony and Clemons turn out to be like Edwards and Avant — watch out college football secondaries around the world.

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Michigan football has wealth of versatile options at offensive skill positions

Anyone who doesn’t know these guys’ names now will very soon. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Though they both were on the offense a year ago, expect bigger things from two players, one of which is considered a wide receiver, while the other is thought of as a running back. However, neither are particularly limited to their respective positions.

Wide receiver A.J. Henning had the longest rushing touchdown of the season last year, a 74-yard end-around in Week 1 against Western Michigan. Running back Donovan Edwards had the most receiving yards in a game in 2021 for the Wolverines, reeling in 10 catches for 170 yards against Maryland. He also threw a 75-yard bomb in the Big Ten championship game for a touchdown. These may be antithetical to the roles generally espoused by their position groups, but that shows just how dynamic some of the weapons the maize and blue has.

Last year wasn’t Henning’s first year, but it was his first real extended playing time, whereas Edwards was a freshman in 2021 and just getting his feet wet. Expect both to really amp things up in 2022, now that they’re both a bit more seasoned.

“Obviously I had Donovan in high school, we used him out as a receiver. So that trade is carried on into college,” wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy, who previously was the head coach at West Bloomfield, said. “And then you go back and look at A.J.s high school film, he played a lot of running back. A.J. moved all over the field, played a little quarterback. So those two guys, they can do a multitude of things. And you don’t miss a beat. And like I said, they both are explosive, both great, but with the ball in their hands. And the thing is, they both have a high-level understanding of football. And you could do a lot of creative things when you have guys with that skill set.”

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With Edwards in particular, he’s expected to really take off now that it’s his second year and the depth chart is a little more amenable with Hassan Haskins off to the NFL. In WolverinesWire’s conversation with Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt, the premier college broadcaster shared that Edwards is one of his ‘dark horse Heisman candidates,’ assuredly not because he’s exclusively an elusive back.

Edwards’ ability as a receiver started to be cultivated in high school, Bellamy says, and once he gets the ball in his hands, that’s when he can really make things happen.

“One of the things when I had him in high school, he had a bad injury his sophomore year,” Bellamy said. “And one of the things I knew how talented he was, I knew he was a guy that’s going to be a high-level college recruit. And I vowed to him that we’re going to protect them. And we just found various ways to get him to football, everything didn’t have to be inside to tackle box. So, we trained him up as a receiver. And we thought that he can be a top 10 receiver in the nation, just as well as he was as a running back. And I think, he took to that and here he is today. He has that skill set.”

For Michigan, it’s a quality problem to have so many riches on the offensive side of the ball. Henning will be deployed more like Deebo Samuel, while Edwards can create all other kinds of problems for opposing teams. In fact, the Wolverines put Edwards and Henning on the field for the same play on the first touchdown drive against Ohio State last year, and the Buckeyes paid such close attention to Edwards that it opened up the sweep for Henning to run in for the score.

Expect that to amp up even more in 2022, as both are now a bit more seasoned and can do various things not confined to the beset roles expected of their position groups.

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What Ron Bellamy said about Michigan football wide receivers in fall camp

It has to be one of the more loaded WR units in the nation. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s an absolutely loaded position group, and perhaps one that doesn’t get enough credit.

The Wolverines have a deep, talented wide receiver room, with nine players who very well could see the field early and often. Ronnie Bell is back after suffering a season-ending injury in the opener a year ago, but so, too, are Cornelius Johnson, Mike Sainristil, Roman Wilson, A.J. Henning, Andrel Anthony, and Cristian Dixon. Michigan also added a talented trio of freshmen at the position group in Darrius Clemons, Tyler Morris, and Amorion Walker.

So, where is the position group at nearly two weeks into fall camp? There’s a new position coach there this year, as former Wolverines receiver Ron Bellamy moved over from coaching safeties a year ago. Here is everything he had to say at his Tuesday morning press conference covering the wideouts in fall camp.

What Ron Bellamy said about Michigan football before Indiana

Hearing what he had to say, pretty evident this team is different than last year, following a loss.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Not only does Ron Bellamy coach the safeties at Michigan, he also had the fortune of wearing a winged helmet 20 years ago. With that in mind, he also suffered a brutal loss at Spartan Stadium as a player back in 2001 with the infamous ‘Spartan Bob’ clock fiasco.

While he might be new to the Wolverines as a coach this year, Bellamy can attest that this team is different than the one he inherited, noting the resolve moving forward. He also looked back on that moment in 2001 as a player and how that team moved on after a devastating loss.

He spoke to the media on Wednesday with Indiana on deck. Here’s everything he had to say.

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Donovan Edwards hasn’t unveiled much of his potential, Ron Bellamy says

If anyone knows what Donovan Edwards is capable of, it’s Ron Bellamy.

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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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What Michigan football S coach Ron Bellamy said in Wednesday media availability

He said a lot here about the state of the defense as well as Donovan Edwards.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — This offseason, Michigan football brought in two of its favorite sons in former running back Mike Hart and wide receiver Ron Bellamy.

Bellamy spent the last several years coaching West Bloomfield, turning the Lakers into state champions just this past year. And he also had familiarity with some current Wolverines as he was the head coach of Makari Paige and Donovan Edwards before they settled on coming to Ann Arbor.

On Wednesday, Bellamy met with the media to give a progress report on the safeties and defensive backs and spoke at-length about the newly-instilled culture, recruiting, seeing Donovan Edwards get his first touchdown and more.

Here is everything he had to say.

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Why Michigan RB Donovan Edwards ‘doesn’t look like a freshman’

He could be a true game changer! #GoBlue

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football has more than one debut that fans are anxiously awaiting. From former five-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy to phenom linebacker Junior Colson, there are a few players who could make an instant impact as true freshmen.

But perhaps the most likely is former five-star running back Donovan Edwards.

Edwards has quickly found himself in the rotation, and head coach Jim Harbaugh has noted that he’ll see the field on day one. So, what does his position coach, Michigan all-time leading rusher Mike Hart, see in the freshman phenom?

“He’s just an explosive player,” Hart said. “I think a lot of you guys have seen his high school tape. The kind of runs he made in high school — he has the ability to make those in college. When he switches gears, you can tell. He doesn’t look out of place. I think a lot of freshmen when they come in, getting used to the speed, getting used to the speed on defense and making people miss, I think it takes a little transition. And it’s still a transition for him, he isn’t where he needs to be, but you can see that he has the skill set to be really, really special one day, if he gets better — he’s not there yet. But if he continues to grow, continues to take coaching, which he does, he has a chance to be a really good player.”

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While Hart is learning about Edwards’ prowess, there’s a coach on-staff that already knows all about what he can do — former West Bloomfield head coach Ron Bellamy, who now coaches the Wolverines safeties.

Considering that he’s already spent four years with Edwards at the Oakland County powerhouse, Bellamy knows everything about what the Lakers standout can do.

And from what he’s seen in fall camp, looking across the line of scrimmage, Bellamy is seeing exactly what he expected when he was helping Edwards manage his recruitment — a bona fide five-star that every school in the nation wanted.

“It’s Donovan — he’s what I’ve seen since third grade,” Bellamy said. “He’s a kid that’s not gonna let anybody outwork him. He’s a kid that takes his craft very seriously. He’s gonna be a great addition to the offense. He’s attacking every day and he’s getting better and better every chance I see him and he poses problems for defenses.”

That’s all good and well, especially in practice, but what about when the lights turn on? It’s a little different playing in West Bloomfield compared to being in front of 110,000 at The Big House. Not to mention, as a former five-star, Edwards has a target on his back, considering everyone is expecting big things. How can/will he live up to that?

“I don’t think he worries about that,” Bellamy said. “If you know Donovan, he received the Gatorade Michigan high school player of the year, he didn’t want to do it — he didn’t want to do the paperwork! He could have been Detroit Athletic Club player of the year — those individual accolades don’t define him. That’s why I don’t think it’ll be too much pressure for him.

“His biggest thing is he wants to compete and win. He’s always been like that. He’s carried that mindset here to Michigan and I’m excited to watch him, because it’s gonna be different for me to see him in that level. But I’m excited to follow his career.”

While Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis both noted that Edwards will be an instant impact player, how ready is he to contribute? Because often, it takes time for any high school player to acclimate to the physicality of the college game.

Bellamy says, however, with Edwards, there’s no reason to worry about that.

“When Donovan was in the 10th grade, he benched 225 (pounds) 12 times,” Bellamy said. “So, physically, dude’s ready. He always has been. He’s been a bit more physically mature than other kids his age and same is the case here. He’s come in day one since spring ball and he doesn’t look like a freshman.”

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