Michigan Football: Is Oklahoma still a threat for Donovan Edwards?

Oklahoma has been a top competitor for 4-star running back Donovan Edwards, but after getting a crystal ball for another back, are the Sooners out?

As far as Michigan football is concerned, there is no recruiting battle more important than the one for in-state running back Donovan Edwards.

Edwards, who is ranked 34th overall by the 247 sports composite rankings, has garnered national attention and in addition to Michigan football, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama are some of the other contenders.

Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Michigan State have all been in the mix at one time or another. The Buckeyes are essentially out of it and while Michigan State still gets mentioned, it’s hard to see Edwards joining a program that currently has the 74th-ranked recruiting class.

It’s also ranked 13th in the Big Ten. Edwards has said he wants to come with a talented recruiting class and that’s something the Spartans certainly don’t have.

So the real threats to Michigan football in Edwards’ recruitment are Oklahoma, Georgia and in my eyes, Alabama, which has been sort of a dark horse.

Yet, some crystal balls have started to come in for the Sooners in regards to elite running back Camar Wheaton, who is ranked 18th overall in 2021 and 2nd among running back in the 247 sports composite rankings.

Wheaton has two crystal ball projections in right now and Steve Lorenz of The Michigan Insider ($) also added a prediction for Oklahoma, which actually is good news for the Wolverines.

If Wheaton commits to Oklahoma, that should take the Sooners out of the mix for Edwards and they have been seen as one of the top competitors, in part because of Demarco Murray and the draw of head coach Lincoln Riley.

Where things stand with Michigan football

One thing that could throw a wrench in the recruiting battle for Edwards is the decision by the Big Ten to push its season the spring. Edwards wasn’t happy about it, here’s what he told the Detroit Free Press: 

"“I think that’s some bull. I can’t really speak on it because I’m here, but I think that’s kind of unfair. Everybody’s got their reasons to do so. I just hope that one day, just bring it back out sometime this year.”"

He also said this when asked about his recruitment: “I’ve got schools of interest, but I really haven’t narrowed anything down.”

That’s not the sentence you wanted to hear as a Michigan fan, because there has been some hope that Edwards would pull the trigger on a commitment to U-M.

He hasn’t taken his official visits and has been holding out hope to do that this fall, however, the dead period was extended Wednesday until the end of September. Who knows when it will end?

That could be a good thing for Michigan. If Edwards is unable to take those visits, it seems more likely that he will end up as a Wolverine. He’s already considered a U-M lean with a slew of crystal balls projecting him to Ann Arbor.

Georgia has a top-10 running back committed already, but Alabama doesn’t and that’s something that worries me.

Nick Saban has negatively recruited against Michigan before (Daxton Hill) and I’m sure the Crimson Tide and others will use the recent decision of the Big Ten against the Wolverines.

How Michigan handles that situation with recruits will be critical. So far, the response of the 2021 commitments has been positive and there’s been talk they could play right away in a spring season.

There are lots of unknowns right now, but one of the biggest concerning Michigan is how recruits like Edwards will handle this news, because in 2021, he’s a must-land recruit for the Wolverines.