Rivals.com updated its recruiting rankings this week, and two Michigan Wolverines football signees received significant bumps up in the Rivals100.
West Bloomfield (Mich.) High running back Donovan Edwards jumped 16 spots from No. 74 to No. 58 and is now a 6.0 high four-star prospect (he was previously rated at 5.9). Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood linebacker Junior Colson also received a bump, moving up 12 spots from No. 94 to No. 82.
Over the weekend, Edwards, who is an early enrollee and has already begun classes at U-M, won a state title with his high school team. West Bloomfield defeated Davison (Mich.) High, 41-0. He finished with 257 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries, averaging 18.4 yards per attempt.
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According to Rivals.com midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt, Edwards' strong postseason, which included 16 touchdowns in his final four contests, played a part in his nudge up to No. 58.
"Certainly the postseason play factored into it, but Donovan’s always been a guy right on the cusp of 5.9 and 6.0 Rivals ranking," Helmholdt said. "This update, we got really that full look at his senior season, including the playoffs.
"Now we got his full senior season film, we got a full look at him in the playoffs, and I think when we were able to digest that in the broad scope of things, we felt 6.0 was more appropriate than 5.9. And just looking at some of the other guys around them, where he kind of stacked up against those guys in the Rivals100, we thought where he is now was more appropriate than where we had him."
And that senior film helped Edwards' case. A selection to participate in the Under Armour All-American Game, Adidas All-American Game, Hall of Fame World Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl, Edwards chose to finish out the season — even after the end of the campaign was continually delayed — and he kicked his play into another gear.
"West Bloomfield went to the state championship and won by six touchdowns because he has that ability to flip a switch and take over games and be dominant when he needs to," Helmholdt said. "All those things just gives us further confidence in his ability and his skillset. And again, it wasn’t a huge bump, but just felt like where we have him now, rated as 6.0 and ranked a few spots higher in the 100 is more accurate than where we had him before."
Helmholdt believes Edwards is the top running back to come out of the state of Michigan since former Detroit Cass Tech star Mike Weber in the class of 2014. Weber was a 6.0 four-star and ranked as the No. 59 player in his class. Of course, he went on to have a standout career at Ohio State.
Colson, also an early enrollee, accumulated 101 tackles and seven sacks in eight games as a prep senior, helping lead his team to the second round of the playoffs. His big senior season factored into the decision to move him up, said Rivals national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell.
"He had a very solid season so that helped us distance him a bit from some other linebackers and that was the key to the slight move," Farrell explained.
"I like the way he diagnoses plays and takes a direct line to the ball. His size is the first thing you see but it’s those instincts that could make the difference."
Part of ranking prospects is projecting what kind of impact they will have at the next level. Under new Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, Farrell believes Colson can thrive, and possibly even early in his career.
"I think he could see the field early with a new defensive set of coaches and new style," Farrell said. "He’s physically big enough to play it will depend on how he deals with the speed."
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