Donovan Edwards woke up Wednesday morning unsure of where he'd be playing football next year. He woke up Thursday ready for his future at Michigan.
The West Bloomfield star and one of the top running back recruits in the country chose the Wolverines over Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame and Penn State.
Why not one one of those big-time winners down south?
"Because honestly, it’s cool to actually build something special, build something from the ground up," Edwards said Thursday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "I honestly see all the other programs winning and doing their thing, but for me, it’s like, why not create something special? Why not rearrange something special and make history?"
When Edwards talked to other recruits in Michigan's 2021 class as he was mulling his decision, he said it helped that they had the same mindset.
"For the past couple weeks I’ve been talking to a lot of the recruits, just getting to see where their heads are. I wanted it to be something where my teammates had the same mentality as me, and it’s crazy because they all have the same type of mentality," he said.
Edwards grew up 40 minutes from the Big House. He did not grow up a Michigan fan. "No, no, hell no. I hated Michigan to be honest with you," Edwards said with a laugh. He was actually a Michigan State fan. Maybe that's why he hasn't spent much time visualizing his first touchdown in the winged helmet.
"I haven’t thought about that," he said. "All I know is I’m just going to be scoring a lot of touchdowns."
As for the Spartans, Edwards said Mark Dantonio's staff offered him during his sophomore year. But the uncertainty within the program led him in a different direction.
"That coaching staff changed, different things were just changing around that program. I really still like the program, but at that point in time I just had different options going on. I believe at that time I was really liking Ohio State the most," he said.
Then the nation's No. 1 running back, TreVeyon Henderson, committed to the Buckeyes in March. Edwards decided it wouldn't be a 'great decision' to follow him to Columbus.
"It wouldn’t be a problem for me to go in and compete, first and foremost. But y’all got what y’all wanted already so it’s like, I might as well just move on myself."
So there he was on West Bloomfield's snow-covered football field Wednesday, declaring his commitment to Michigan.
"At the end of the day, I just know Michigan was the best fit for me because it’s where I’m most comfortable, the place where I’m familiar with the environment, the people know who I am already," Edwards said. "So I just feel like it’s only up from here."