With Michigan's winning culture, it's the little things that count
Michigan running back Donovan Edwards just might have given the most intriguing look into the mindset of the program's winning culture that has sparked a three-year renaissance period for the program, which culminated in a national championship season.
Not satisfied with just one, Edwards returned for his final season in Ann Arbor hoping to uphold the standard that has been set in Ann Arbor.
It won't be an easy task, though, as the Wolverines have to replace key players at multiple positions.
Edwards, however, says that as long as leadership continues and the hard work remains, the Wolverines remain in an excellent position to achieve their goals.
"All it is for us is to continuously just being able to stay humble and stay gritty and continue to grind and to accomplish our goals," Edwards said on the In the Trenches podcast this week. "As long we continue to have high leadership, as long as we can continue to have open ears and an open mind and an open heart then we'll be successful.
"There's no doubt in my mind that we will be able to accomplish our goals, it's just the fact that can we continue — even though the days are hard, can we continue to lock in? Can we make our M's straight in the weight room, can we do the small things right? Can we stay off the list? I'm very confident in this team so it's going to be a great challenge for us this upcoming year."
Though it might sound trivial, the minute details of keeping the M's straight in the weight room is something the players have consistently attributed to helping turn around the culture.
Taking care of your space, the space will take care of you.
Edwards says the lessons have been valuable.
When the going gets tough, sticking to what you know will help you get through.
"What the people don't know, say in the fourth quarter going into overtime against Alabama, it's those smaller details that allow us to be successful," Edwards said. "That all starts in the offseason. Coach Herb had laid the foundation of small things like making your shoes perfect, making the M's, the dumbbells, perfect in the weight room. If you walk into our weight room right now, everything is perfect, neat and straight. That's the way that we live by and that's also going to resemble onto the field as well. It's just those things that Coach Herb laid the foundation and J-Tress continues to implement and the leaders as well continue to embody it and spread it upon the other guys. Make this culture continuously be strong. That's what makes us successful and when times are hard, we just revert back to that training."
---
Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards
Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer
Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @Jerry_Diorio
Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify
Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube
Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram