Football

Donovan Edwards gives No. 2 Michigan elite RB depth as he gives 'glory to the Lord'

By Kevin Mercer Nov 28, 2022
Michigan running back Donovan Edwards eludes an Ohio State defender, Nov. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, No. 2 Michigan has a 97% chance to make the College Football Playoff after capping off a 12-0 regular season with a 45-23 win over archrival Ohio State on Saturday.

The Wolverines have set themselves up for a shot at the national championship in large part because of their running game (fifth best nationally with 244.5 yards per game), spearheaded by superstar running back Blake Corum. But on Saturday in Columbus as the pair of undefeated college football heavyweights squared off, it was Corum’s backup, Donovan Edwards, who stole the show.

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With Corum severely limited due to an injured knee, Edwards amassed an impressive 216 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Edwards’ first touchdown was a 75-yard jaunt with 7:11 remaining in the fourth quarter, while the second came just four minutes later when he exploded out of the backfield again for an 85-yard score to seal the victory. They were the two longest running plays Michigan has ever had against Ohio State.

Edwards is quickly making it a habit to deliver his best performances when his team needs him to the most. In Michigan’s only other matchup this season against a ranked team, Penn State (then No. 10, now No. 8), the sophomore from West Bloomfield, Michigan, amassed 173 yards and two second-half touchdowns to break open a close game. Three weeks later, he added another 100-yard day with 109 against Rutgers.

Edwards, with 687 yards and six touchdowns, is second on the team in rushing behind Corum, but he leads the Wolverines’ backfield with an incredible 7.5 yards-per-carry average (minimum 10 carries).

When he was interviewed by FOX on the field after the game against the Buckeyes, he made sure to honor God.

“First and foremost, all praises to the Lord,” he said. “He blessed us to be able to come play in this game. All of us who played in the game, we came out healthy and we got the victory. So all praises to the Lord.”

But Edwards wasn’t done. In an interview with WXYZ-TV in Detroit moments later, he continued praising God.

“The Lord has blessed us to be capable of a lot,” he said. “We trust in God, we trust in each other; we have love for the Lord and we have love for each other. … We give glory to the Lord at the end of the game.”

Then, in the postgame press conference, Edwards said, “The reason I was able to do what I did is because of the Lord. I pray all the time and I talk to God all the time. He told me this is going to be our game for us, that I was going to have a breakout game.”

Edwards’ eagerness and boldness to speak publicly about his faith even caught the attention of former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III, and he hopes many more.

Up next for Edwards and the Wolverines is a date with Purdue (8-4) in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis on Saturday. The game is set for 8 p.m. ET. A win would guarantee Michigan a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row, giving Edwards the biggest stage yet to share his faith with the world.

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