Michigan football's Donovan Edwards given new 5-star ranking by 247Sports
Donovan Edwards' explosive performances in the state playoffs did not go unnoticed.
247Sports awarded the West Bloomfield running back a fifth star Wednesday, ranking him within the top-32 prospects in the 2021 class.
"He did everything you could ask from a back," wrote 247Sports' Allen Trieu. "When the tough yards were needed and he had to go through someone, he did it. When he needed to find a crease and outrun defenses, he did it. He was the catalyst for his team's first state championship in school history. This was a team that was well coached with some other nice pieces, but with a young offensive line and a first-year starting quarterback.
"Edwards has great burst and lateral ability. He can make one cut and get going full-speed ahead quickly. He does not categorize as a pure power back or a pure speed back, but as a lead back who can do a little bit of everything."
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Edwards, who signed with Michigan football and will enroll early, ran 14 times for 257 yards and three touchdowns in West Bloomfield's 41-0 win over Davison in the Division 1 state championship game Saturday.
The week prior, Edwards had 18 carries for 155 yards and three touchdowns in the Lakers' overtime win over No. 1 Belleville.
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Edwards committed to the Wolverines on the first day of the December early signing period, picking Michigan over schools like Georgia, Notre Dame and Oklahoma, among others.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Edwards is the highest-ranked running back the Wolverines have landed during coach Jim Harbaugh's tenure. He is now ranked No. 40 overall in the Composite rankings, which take into account rankings from 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN (he is ranked No. 32 in the 247Sports rankings).
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Based on the Composite rankings, Edwards is the second-highest ranked recruit in Michigan's class, behind only five-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is ranked No. 23 in the Composite rankings and No. 37 in 247Sports' rankings.
Ron Bellamy, the head coach at West Bloomfield, will join Edwards at Michigan as the new receivers coach.
Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's Donovan Edwards gets new 5-star recruiting ranking
