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Tom VanHaaren, ESPN Staff Writer
Michigan running back Donovan Edwards revealed Saturday that he played the majority of last season with a partially torn patellar tendon.
Edwards injured his right hand in a 34-3 win over Nebraska on Nov. 12 and had to wear a cast, which was visible and required two screws in the hand. But he also said he injured a patellar tendon in the second game of the season against Hawai’i, a 56-10 win on Sept. 10.
“I got that fixed up, had surgery in February and just been rehabbing now,” Edwards said. “I’m up to par now, running, cutting, doing all that good stuff. So, like that recovery wasn’t going to take long, about four months to get full speed, three months for me to feel good.”
Edwards shared carries with Blake Corum last season and ran for 991 yards and seven touchdowns. Edwards noted that his rehab has gone as planned and he is ready for the season to start.
He is now working on trusting himself to run and cut, reaching top speed and getting into playing shape. Edwards said he doesn’t believe that will be difficult to achieve and that he’s already past the difficult part.
“I always thought it’s OK, tendinitis, it’s a little achy,” Edwards said. “I found out against Hawai’i, I made that catch right at the goal line, put my knee back and it just didn’t feel right. I found out it was partially torn and after that just continue to work around it.”
Edwards was able to get relief by sharing carries with Corum, but he carried most of the load against Ohio State when Corum was injured and couldn’t play. In that game, despite the patella injury, Edwards ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns in Michigan’s 45-23 win.
“My leg would’ve had to been cut off to not play,” Edwards said. “Same thing with the broken hand, put a cast on it and I’ll carry [the ball] in my dominant hand. Just got to do what you got to do to come up successful and win a game.”
