Donovan Edwards, one of the top running backs in the class of 2021, discusses Georgia football and his recruiting process.
Running back Donovan Edwards is a guy that Georgia really has its eyes on in the 2021 recruiting cycle.
After signing two elite prospects in the 2020 class, Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards, the Dawgs will look to land at least one of the nation’s premiere backs in 2021.
If that guy ends up being Edwards, that would be a huge win for the Bulldogs’ recruiting class.
Out of West Bloomfield, Michigan, Edwards ranks as the nation’s No. 2 running back, the top player in his state and the No. 22 overall prospect in America.
He is a 4-star prospect who could very well earn that fifth star by the time he enrolls in college.
247Sports compares Edwards to New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara. At 5-11 and 190 pounds, Edwards uses his strong, compact build to burst between tackles, but what really sets him apart from other backs in his class is his pass-catching ability. Hence the Kamara comparison.
At the moment, Edwards does not have a list of top schools nor does he have a leader. I would not hold your breath, either. He doesn’t know when he is planning on releasing any form of a list. He wants to get a feel for each school before narrowing down his favorites.
Being from Michigan, Edwards likely feels the pressure to stay in-state or at least up in BIG10 country. But, the idea of playing down south in the SEC has its attractions as well.
“The production of running backs that have been drafted into the league.”
That’s what’s most enticing to Edwards when he thinks about coming to Georgia or the SEC.
Edwards says that he has followed the careers of D’Andre Swift, Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Todd Gurley closely – often watching their tape and trying to model his game after their’s.
He visited Georgia on February 1st, where he posed for photos in UGA jerseys and hung out with the coaches and fellow recruits.
During that visit, Edwards said the coaches showed him videos of Chubb during his days at Georgia and explained how they would like to use him similarly to how they worked with Chubb.
But at the end of the day, talk does not excite Edwards. He wants to see it for himself.
“I’m not impressed by words,” Edwards said when I asked him if the coaches told him anything in particular that he liked hearing.
“But the visit was excellent,” he added.
Expanding on the visit, Edwards mentioned that he enjoyed hanging out with 5-star quarterback commit Brock Vandagriff, a fellow member in the 2021 recruiting cycle. He’s also built a nice relationship with 5-star offensive tackle Amarius Mims, who many project will commit to UGA when it’s all said and done.
“Loyalty and trust,” are two things that are very important to Edwards. He feels a heightened sense of those when talking with Kirby Smart and the Georgia staff.
February 1st in Athens was one of Edwards’ final recruiting visits before coronavirus put all in-person recruitment on hold. Since, COVID-19 has forced Edwards to cancel a trip to the sunshine state, where he had visits planned with Florida, Miami and Florida State.
Plenty of recruiting experts see Michigan as the team to beat for Edwards’ talents. Ohio State was once a major player, but the Buckeyes recently landed two of America’s top backs.
Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas have all made their run for Edwards. Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly swung by as well.
However, only one team can make the claim of being R.B.U.
And that’s Georgia.
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