Michigan Football: Oklahoma is latest contender with Donovan Edwards

Michigan football has been doing its best to bring home in-state recruit Donovan Edwards, a near five-star recruit but a new powerhouse contender emerged.

If Michigan football isn’t able to land highly-touted in-state running back Donovan Edwards, it won’t be for a lack of trying.

And if the Wolverines do end up winning the commitment of 2021’s No. 3 running back and No. 38 player overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings, they will have earned it.

Michigan football was viewed as the favorite for Edwards as recently as a few months back. Ohio State made a push. Georgia has been gaining too and others like Notre Dame, Michigan State and Penn State have also been in the mix from time to time.

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Michigan has remained a key figure in Edwards’ recruitment and just recently, head coach Jim Harbaugh had a FaceTime meeting with Edwards, which went pretty well.

But in a sign that this could be far from over, Edwards took a virtual visit with Oklahoma on Saturday and it appears that the Sooners have emerged as another contender for the running back with dynamic skills as a runner and receiver. Here’s what a source told Brandon Drumm who covers the Sooners for 247 sports ($):

"“Michigan and Georgia always seemed to be at the top in a battle, but Demarco Murray has really made it hard for Edwards not to like OU, and as such has the Sooners have become a relevant team here.”"

From a Michigan perspective, it’s hard to gauge the Wolverines chances. They have been consistent with Edwards and the relatonship seems to be pretty solid, but as Edwards told Harbaugh in their last virtual meeting, he wants to win a national title, which would give teams like Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio State a selling point over the Wolverines.

The Wolverines seem to be in a good position with Prophet Brown another versatile running back out of California. He’s ranked 14th among backs and in the composite rankings for 2021, Brown is 238th overall. He also got the attention of Giles Jackson, who Tweeted at him Saturday.

Brown could be a great alternative for Edwards, but that doesn’t mean Michigan football should throw in the towel there either. Edwards is a one-of-a-kind player and the Wolverines should do whatever they can to get him to play his college ball in Ann Arbor.