A Discussion About Donovan Edwards

Great kid, hard worker.  Awesome teammate.  

Did you see his post-game interview along with Semaj Morgan?  Big smile, went on and on about Morgan.

Love the guy.

Mullings is RB1 next year.  Donovan had zero explosive plays this year that I can recall.  I don't get it but something isn't right.

I think Edwards should come back for his own sake.

I wouldn't be shocked if he slipped quite far in the draft based on this year. Presumably he'd be the guy next year, and if he works hard in the off-season, hopefully he can sort out some of the issues he's had and shore up his position as a top RB pick in the draft.

I would love to see Moore utilize his versatility to its fullest on Monday. But, if it doesn't fit the game plan/game flow once the game gets going, I can see it being scrapped. My heart says that Donovan should stay for another year to be a Thunder/Lightning combo with Mullings next year a la Haskins/Corum in '21, but my head says that (fairly so) he's going to go pro, especially considering how the RB market has been playing out these last couple seasons on top of RB not being a usual long term position in the NFL. That being said, if he does leave, Michigan has ample replacements with Cabana and Ben Hall. 

First off, we are so lucky to have a high character kid like the Don on the team. A talent like him, letting many 'outshine' him could be a disaster in the locker room. But he owns his role and is integral for the team.

At the same time, it just doesn't make sense that someone with his talent hasn't had the WOW moments that he had to end the 2022 season, pretty much at all this year. It feels like the coaches just don't know how to use him like a CMC, Kamara, Ekeler type. Or even just be a 20-30 snap WR/Slot just to give more opps to have ball in his hands.

I can see him going to the NFL just on potential, but can't see him coming back to be Robin again.

He is missing his holes. Plain and simple.

D.E. had the strangest yearof any UM player. So much was expected from him but for some reason he never looked right. He didn't look like an NFL RB even once this year - which basically no one expected. He did however look like a well rounded multi-skilled player who was one play away from hitting his grove. But that grove never came.

I was impressed by the young man's leadership and positivity - doubly so b/c he was expecting Corum to turn pro and to be the one carrying the offense. I have a lot of respect for D.E. but less confidence in his ability in the NFL.

I think returning is now more likely than the NFL. He would be a great compliment to Mullings who will be a beast next year.

The fact that Donovan gets as many touches as he does, with an all-time great like Blake in the same backfield, says a lot about his talent. He needs to come back next year to show that, and to boost his draft stock.

I dont think he'll transfer. But they should probably discuss moving to WR in the spring. Can still be a gadget guy with end arounds and stuff

Donovan an incredible talent. Selfishly, would love to see him come back for another year after the coaches get the off season to draw up better schemes to take advantage of his “special talents”. Great guy, great teammate, and has the potential to be a major contributor to next year’s team. Go Blue!

Has yet to hit his full potential/tap into his talent shown last year but still has some flashes of brilliance especially with the HB pass and as a pass catcher. Just isn’t hitting the hole like last year. But credit to Edwards being a great guy. We have bashed him a bit for the weird Barry Sanders/Walter Payton comment but I’m impressed by his selflessness and character. A lesser man would pout over not having a breakout season and  splitting carries. Donovan is out there smiling, celebrating with the team, and cheering on the guys. Shows the culture of our team and character of our guys. Love this team, it’s refreshing in a sport quickly gravitating toward a me-first pay for play culture.

Maybe I'm misreading your "surprise" but the fact he has a 3.5 YPC is not surprise -- it is right in line with how he has performed, which has been below average. And I don't mean "below average for him" ; I mean, "below average for a RB in the B1G." His year has been a huge disappointment.

He typically falls down on first contact; he has occasionally looked confused about the route when going out for a pass; dropped a ball during the Rose Bowl (which likely would not have been a first down, but still, it was an easy catch); and provided almost no explosive plays for the whole year while also not being good at pushing the pile.

At this point, we are are 14 games into the season and the sample size isn't small; he should be used for 2-3 carries, along with a few passes out of the backfield and that's it. The rest of the playing time should go to Corum (as usual) and Mullings (which started to happen during the Rose Bowl, which paid dividends -- he had one pile-pushing run along with a nice catch for a first down).

Re next year? That's next year. He'll have to compete for playing time like anyone else.

Unless there is an injury reason for his poor performance this year, I don't have any confidence (just a hope, as he seems like he's a good guy and supportive teammate) that he'll bounce back. In fact, if he gets a mid-round NFL grade, he should go into the draft; it's too risky b/c if Edwards has another year like this year, he will go undrafted, as RB is a low-value NFL draft position and no team is going to draft someone who averaged under 4 yards a carry for two years in a row.

Edwards gets taken down by the first tackler too often and that includes when he is in space.

He has been utilized often and even had plays designed to work in his favor. He has to make to the first guy miss and he fails to do it. I don't know what type of coaching could be done to keep him from being easily tackled but he needs to submit himself to it.

His two runs versus Ohio State in Columbus will always make legendary to me. I am pulling for him to succeed.

Well he is the Don.  We should all be grateful to still have him.  GO BLUE!!!

Considering our OL has been a step below the last two years, his YPC average doesn't surprise me. I do feel like they should be more creative with him in the passing game, especially on running downs, when more LBs are on the field. There's not a lot of time to put in anything new, so maybe there's a package that's been worked on, but not utilized yet. 

With Wilson and Johnson leaving, what about full time wideout? 

It's been a strange year for DE.  He's an amazing talent and teammate.  I'd love to see him have some success in the MNC game.

2024 could be an amazing year for him.  Two-back sets with Mullings (and potentially Orji at QB) could be the most devastating run threat I've ever seen at Michigan.  Their skillsets are perfect compliments, right down to the Don being a very capable passer.

What he does next year should be about his heart.  If the NFL still likes him now, they'll like him next year too.  His talent isn't diminishing.

I love how he was used last week but I'd love to see more production.  It's also clear that there are better options.

Morgan is an amazing talent but I hope we use him more judiciously vs. UW.  That slant was a route that DE could have run and probably caught, and I don't know why we don't see more of that.

He's a prime candidate for Greg Harden.

i think recovery from his injuries last year took longer and he missed out on a lot of offseason training

Donovan edwards has been one of the worst running backs I’ve ever seen this year. He overdosed on his own hype.

I could give a fuck if he comes back next year, Michigan is 14-0 getting almost zero production from him and I won’t have to get upset every time he takes an IZ handoff in the wrong game to make it 2nd and 9. Thanks for the Ohio state game last year though