Michigan football needs Donovan Edwards more than ever. But can it live up to the hype?

At the end of the first quarter of Michigan FootballAfter Washington’s 34-13 clinch in the College Football Playoff championship game, ESPN announcer Chris Fowler shouted, “Welcome back, Donovan Edwards!” At that moment, the Wolverines star was approaching the end zone for the second time that night, on a 46-yard touchdown run that showcased the natural talent of a player who had mysteriously disappeared throughout the 2023 season.

At 11^th Come Michigan’s title run, Edwards got a dose of sweet redemption after a tough fall when he fell hard.

“It was a big mental struggle for me,” Edwards said last Saturday at West Bloomfield High School, his alma mater and the site of his final youth football camp.

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Edwards, in a way, was to blame for this. He was worried about the enthusiasm he created for himself last summer when boasted on a national website that he would be considered one of the greatest running backs of all time and professed his belief that he would one day “revolutionize the game.”

It was a lot of braggadocio coming from someone who remained in the shadow of Blake Corum, the Wolverines’ best ball carrier and the de facto heart of the offense during Michigan’s last golden era. The self-aggrandizing comments were bound to blow up in Edwards’ face, and they did. In the 14 games prior to his 104-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Huskies, Edwards averaged just 28.1 rushing yards per game.

The weekly crises left Edwards chastened and searching for “the fire in his soul,” as he put it.

“I lost it, but then I got it back,” he continued. “And that really helped me a lot, because I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to ease all the expectations for myself.’”

Edwards felt liberated when Michigan lifted the CFP trophy in Houston. But now, almost six months later, he began to feel the weight on his shoulders again, as the fanfare around him began to regenerate. He can thank EA Sports for that, after the company revealed in May that it chose him, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Colorado two-way sensation Travis Hunter to share the cover of its revived college football video game.

Edwards said he was grateful to be picked at forward, calling it a “blessing.” However, he recognizes that it can also become a burden, knowing there will be a spotlight on his back and increasing pressure to live up to his status as one of the sport’s most recognizable faces.

“I’m in a situation and on a platform where all eyes are on me,” acknowledged Edwards, a 21-year veteran. “My question is, ‘What are you going to do when all eyes are on you? You are not going to do anything? Will you go further? ”

The fate of the Wolverines this season could depend on the answer Edwards provides.

After all, the attack is undergoing a major overhaul. After the last confetti fell at NRG Stadium in January, the team said goodbye to Corum, quarterback JJ McCarthy and the entire starting offensive line. The exodus of talent has left Michigan with few proven sources of production beyond Edwards and junior tight end Colston Loveland.

But while Loveland offered consistent returns throughout his career, Edwards’ production was more sporadic. To this point, Edwards averaged less than 4 yards per carry in 10 of his 15 starts last season. As he failed to gain momentum throughout a frustrating slump, memories of his stunning 216-yard, two-touchdown tour de force against Ohio State in November 2022 began to fade.

That performance in Columbus turned Edwards into a household name, raising his profile and perhaps setting him up for the disappointment of 2023. But now it brings hope for this season — it showed he could thrive in a leadership role. With Corum hampered by a torn meniscus in his left knee, Edwards was tasked with being the primary running back that afternoon 19 months ago. It was the first of three games in which he carried the ball more than 20 times. On each occasion, Edwards surpassed 100 yards on the ground.

“Football is a game of rhythm and feeling,” Edwards said. “If you’re not getting into the rhythm of how you know how you can get in, who’s to say you’re going to get 40-, 70-yard touchdowns that you know you’re capable of?”

It’s a question Edwards pondered last fall, when he averaged eight rush attempts per game. But it’s something he probably won’t have to contemplate in the near future.

That’s because Edwards is expected to be one of Michigan’s main drivers this season. New running backs coach Tony Alford described Edwards “as kind of an alpha male leader in our room.”

“I mean, he’s a great player, as we all know,” added full-back Max Bredeson. “His role will be as much as possible.”

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Edwards offered a preview of what it could be like in April when he powered his team on a field goal drive during the opening possession of the spring game. With added muscle on his 6-foot-5 frame, he carried the ball five times for 33 yards, running hard up the middle and eliminating defenders while picking up several first downs. In his brief appearance, he showed strength, power and urgency rarely seen in 2023, when he moved the sticks on just 16 of his 119 attempts and forced just 14 missed tackles.

Offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell was particularly impressed with the work of the muscular back in the glorified fight.

“I told him at halftime I was proud of him,” he said afterward. “I thought he probably ran one of the hardest races I’ve ever seen him run.”

The question now is whether he has the strength to reach the finish line in a Michigan career full of stops and starts.

Not long ago, Edwards, a projected third-round pick in the 2025 draft, thought he was already over that threshold. Last year, he intended to skip his senior season and play in the NFL next fall. That’s when he believed his own hype.

“I was hoping to go to the league… I was hoping to have a great year,” he said in one breath.

“I thought it would be all sunshine and rainbows, but it’s not,” he explained in another.

It was a difficult lesson to learn in front of millions.

But it grounded him and set the stage for him to become one of the faces of college football in 2024.

Welcome back, Donovan Edwards?

“Whatever,” Edwards said dismissively.

He argues that he never left.

Michigan, meanwhile, hopes to have the resilience this year to lead the Wolverines back to glory.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin

This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Donovan Edwards is ready to shine as the face of Michigan football