WATCH: Donovan Edwards, Mason Graham talk new Michigan coaches, spring ball, more
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football senior running back Donovan Edwards and junior defensive tackle Mason Graham met with the media following a spring workout Monday afternoon. Watch video of Edwards in the player at the top of the screen and Graham in the embed below.
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Edwards, who says he’s gained 14 pounds, discussed how, in hindsight, his offseason knee surgery last season held him back. He sat out of Michigan’s spring practices but is going through them this time around and feels good.
“I think that last year’s spring ball, not being able to participate in spring ball, set me back tremendously. What spring ball is about is being able to get your confidence, being able to get a feel for the game — and I wasn’t able to get that last year.
“Coming off of a knee surgery, I didn’t start practicing again until August, and I was still having other issues within my body that I’m still working through today. I feel good now; I feel great. I feel like my cuts are looking better, I’m playing better. The speed is back, and the speed is where it needs to be. And I put on 14 more pounds. Being able to stay healthy all of last year and to be able to participate in spring ball right now is just continuing to boost my confidence.”
Edwards elaborated on how last season also humbled him. He averaged just over 4 yards per carry as a Michigan junior, after that figure was over 7 yards per carry the previous season.
“I’ve always had this fire in my heart,” Edwards said. “And the fire in the heart started COVID year, going into my senior year of high school — working out, watching The Last Dance and what Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were doing. That just helped the fire in my heart continue to grow.
“I’ll be honest, I kinda lost it going into my junior year [at Michigan], not feeling great. I’m not getting the carries that I want. But it clicked for me again that the fire in my heart was there again. It became evident. It was a practice that it just showed back up. I’m grateful that everything has happened for me, because all it’s going to do is continue to push me as a player and as a man.”
Continued the Michigan back: “I can’t sit up here and say that I haven’t faced adversity, because I have. But that adversity has made me a man, and that adversity is going to make me a better football player. So, I’m still confident. Don’t mistake my confidence for arrogance, but I’m confident within myself and my abilities and my capabilities. My obligation is just to continue to bring everybody else up with me, because as long as we can do that, then we will be successful.”
