Donovan Edwards (born February 25, 2003) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

Early years and high school career

Edwards was born in 2003 in West Bloomfield, Michigan. His mother, Donna, died from cancer in 2005 when Donovan was two years old. He was raised by his father, Kevin Edwards Sr and older brother Kevin Jr. Edwards' grandfather, Charlie Primas Jr, won Mr. Basketball in Michigan in 1950. Edwards played high school football at

West Bloomfield High School West Bloomfield High School is a public secondary school in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The school is the only public high school in the West Bloomfield School District. The School Enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year is about 1900. West Bloomfi ...

. As a senior in 2020, he rushed for 1,502 yards and 30 touchdowns and led West Bloomfield to the Division 1 state championship. In 2021, he was honored as the 2020–21 Gatorade Michigan Football Player of the Year, selected by the ''

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'' as the captain of its 2020 football dream team, and was named Mr. Football for the state of Michigan. He was rated as a five-star recruit by

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College career

In December 2020, Edwards committed to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He announced the decision on

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, choosing Michigan over the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, and the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

. He enrolled early at Michigan in January 2021. As a freshman during the 2021 season, Edwards rushed for 174 yards on eight carries and caught 20 passes for 265 yards. He scored his first two touchdowns against Northern Illinois on September 18. In the first half of the Big Ten Championship Game against

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

on December 4, Edwards threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to

Roman Wilson Roman Jeffrey Wilson (born June 19, 2001) is an American football wide receiver for the Michigan Wolverines. He has played for Michigan since 2020. He was a part of the 2023 team that won the College Football Playoff National Championship. Ea ...

, after receiving a backward pass from quarterback Cade McNamara. As a sophomore in

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, Edwards rushed for 872 yards, added 192 receiving yards, and scored nine touchdowns. Against

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

on November 26, he rushed for 216 yards, including touchdown runs of 75 and 85 yards in the fourth quarter. In the Big Ten Championship game, he rushed for 185 yards and one touchdown against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. In the College Football Playoff National Championship, Edwards rushed for 104 yards against Washington, including touchdown runs of 41 and 46 yards.

Statistics

Personal life

Edwards is the son of Kevin and the late Donna Edwards. Edwards is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Donovan 2003 births Living people American football running backs Michigan Wolverines football players People from West Bloomfield, Michigan Players of American football from Oakland County, Michigan