Michigan football running back is confident despite Week 1 woes

Last weekend, in the Wolverines’ season opener against East Carolina, Michigan football running back Donovan Edwards did not have much luck moving the football. He touched the ball 16 total times for 70 yards — he picked up 37 yards on 12 carries. While the Wolverines were not rushing the ball as well as fans were used to, JJ McCarthy and the passing offense exploded and led the team to victory. Still, despite some Week 1 woes, Edwards remains confident in the running back room heading into Week 2.

Michigan football running back remains confident despite Week 1 struggles

Yesterday, Michigan football running back star Donovan Edwards — a junior RB for the Wolverines — spoke with the media following Michigan’s 30-3 victory over East Carolina. There, Edwards had a chance to explain some of what he saw from the field in regards to his slow Week 1 performance.

“(East Carolina) had a really great game plan for stopping the run,” the Michigan football star explained. “8, 9, 10 people in the (tackle) box. They were stopping a run, but it was great being in the Big House again. All the fantastic fans cheering us on. I’m very happy with how we played overall as a team, they stopped the run, and that opened up the passing game. (JJ McCarthy) had a great game. (Roman Wilson) had a fantastic game.”

Donovan Edwards happy with Wolverines’ season opener

Overall, despite some rushing woes, Edwards is thrilled with his team’s ability to adapt and come away with a Week 1 victory last Saturday.

“I’m very happy with how we played (as a team),” Donovan Edwards continued. “The defense would have had a shutout had ECU not kicked the field goal in the end. But I feel like ECU is going to have a very successful year. They’re going to do very well in the conference because of the program that they have and how the defense plays.”

Takeaways from the East Carolina win

Still, Donovan Edwards says that Week 1 was a tough game to be a running back — if nothing else, it’s because ECU was selling out like no Big Ten team will in an attempt to stop him and Blake Corum.

“It’s difficult because, honestly, you don’t really see that too much in the Big Ten because every team is dynamic,” Edwards explained. “They could run and pass the ball, but TCU played the same way. There were about eight, nine people in the box every single time, but I’m kind of happy that that happened because as a ball carrier and as a skill player, it’s like, ‘How can I adjust from that?’ … When something’s not working, or something’s not there for me, what can I do better for myself? Instead of there being small holes that I can hit or big holes that I can hit, what can I do personally? What can we do better, you know?

“And that’s why I’m very grateful for the game, to see what can we do like when there’s nothing that we can do. But at the same time, just protect the ball, get as much as you can get, and live with the next play.”

Michigan football will do what it needs to do — whether that be running or passing the football

While the Michigan football ground game may stall due to opposing defenses loading the tackle box, Donovan Edwards knows that the Wolverines’ offense remains in good hands. Junior quarterback JJ McCarthy, who set a Michigan program record over the weekend, is ready to step up, just as we saw against East Carolina. McCarthy went 26/30 for 280 yards and a trio of touchdowns in the season opener this year.

“We’re going to do what we need to do,” Edwards said of the Michigan football offense. “If they stop the run, we’re going to rely on the pass. If they’re putting eight people back, we’ll run the ball. But their game plan was to stop No. 2 (Corum) and No. 7 (Edwards). So they pretty much did, and we both didn’t crack a hundred. But we rely on everything. We’re that dynamic of a team where we’re relying on the run, the pass, (JJ McCarthy) running, quarterbacks running, receivers getting space to catch the balls, or making contested catches. That’s what we’re relying on.”

Michigan football takes on UNLV this Saturday at 3:30 PM (EST) for a Week 2 matchup in Ann Arbor, MI.

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