ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It wasn’t a banner day for Michigan senior running back Donovan Edwards, who, outside of his touchdown catch, struggled to get going on the ground in Week 1 against Fresno State. It was a continuation of last year, it appeared, as Edwards couldn’t manage to break free to make one of his signature big plays in the game.
Now the starting running back for the Wolverines, Edwards managed just 27 yards on 11 carries. But his position coach, Tony Alford, isn’t concerned when it comes to his star tailback, even if the game didn’t go as Edwards had hoped it would.
“He played hard, he ran hard,” Alford said. “Just didn’t have the opportunity to maybe crack some of the runs into the second, third level of defense. But, yeah, the kid ran hard and played hard, so I wasn’t displeased with how hard he played. Some of the opportunities that Kalel had kind of broke some things and it just kind of worked out that way.”
Edwards is something of a rhythmic runner. He might look pedestrian for stretches, but eventually, he’ll start breaking longer and longer runs.
We saw that mostly in 2022, but in 2023, he didn’t get enough of those opportunities to break free, as Michigan relied more heavily on Blake Corum. But considering that Kalel Mullings managed to average six yards per carry as the backup, many are clamoring for him to be RB1.
So what is Alford doing to try to get Edwards more into rhythm?
“I just think we’re just going to play the game and those opportunities will come,” Alford said. “I think one of the things that can happen with running backs as you move forward is they’re always looking for a big play. Let’s say you’re known for making big plays. So now all of a sudden it’s not happening right away. You start trying to overcompensate to make a big play, just stay within the structure of what we’re doing, and the big plays will come. But just keep playing the game.
“And I do think the run game is also a softening up process, right? As the game wears on, hopefully you’ve been been punching and punching and punching. Some things start to break open later in the game for guys. And so we’re just going to keep playing and kind of go from there.”
Most importantly, beyond simple in-game production, Edwards is a leader on his team, Alford notes. And despite any disappointment he might have, he needs to put it on the backburner and focus on being a good example for his teammates.
“Yeah, that was the biggest thing, I think, with he and I, just full transparency of he’s voted a team captain by his teammates, not the coaches by his teammates,” Alford said. “He’s voted somebody that the guys want to follow and they want him to lead. And so with that, if things aren’t going as well as you may like them to go, there’s a certain demeanor and there’s a certain way that you still have to present yourself. And frustration, sure, we all get frustrated at times. But you still have a responsibility to lead in a positive manner and just to keep going because people are going to be looking at you. How do you respond when things aren’t maybe going as well as you would like them to go personally?
“And so we did talk about that. And I’m very happy and pleased with the way he’s responded to that. He’s like, ‘No, coach, you got it, you’re right.’ He’s a consummate team guy. And, again, nobody in this building is worried about Donovan Edwards and what lies ahead for him. He’s going to be perfectly fine.”
Edwards has a prime opportunity this week when Michigan hosts Texas for the second-ever meeting between the storied programs. Known as ‘Big Game Don,’ Edwards seems to come alive when the lights are the brightest — look at 2022 Penn State and Ohio State as well as the national championship game last year for proof. If Michigan is to take down the Longhorns, Edwards will need to be productive as he has been in those big games.