Ohio State Football: Donovan Edwards salty over OSU recruitment

The Ohio State football team has had a busy month on the recruiting trail, but it’s one former Buckeye offer that is making headlines right now.

The need at running back was apparent back in 2021 for the Ohio State football team. Running backs coach Tony Alford made no secret that he was trying to secure two top running backs in that class.

At the top of that list, there were three five-star backs and one four-star back that Alford was in on. Will Shipley, who eventually signed with Clemson, was never really going to happen. That left Donovan Edwards, TreVeyon Henderson, and Evan Pryor as Alford’s top remaining targets.

Evan Pryor bit first, verbally committing to the Buckeyes in March of 2020. With one open spot left to fill, Alford made it pretty clear that whoever accepted the Ohio State offer first would be able to step in line for a starting tailback role at Ohio State. Two weeks later, Henderson gave his verbal to Alford and the Buckeyes, leaving Edwards as the odd man out.

Three years later, Edwards is still salty over it. He came out last week during Wolverine Day at The Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City, Michigan (An awesome place to golf, from firsthand knowledge) and said this, via 247Sports:

"“I was their No. 1 running back on the board. I was just taking my time during the recruitment, and they told me they were going to take two running backs. I’m like, ‘Cool. That’s perfect … you’ve got to have two running backs in the class at least.’ And Evan (Pryor) committed first. I was like, ‘Alright, cool.’ I was still taking my time with the recruitment. Then they took TreVeyon (Henderson). I was just like, ‘Alright, bet! Now it’s on! Now it’s on!’ I was just like, ‘Alright, I’m about to go to a school and just kick y’all ass!”"

Now, I have to hand it to Edwards. If that’s how he feels, boy did he use that motivation well last year in Columbus, rushing for 216 yards and two touchdowns on the Buckeye defense.

But seriously, how can Edwards be mad at Ohio State if he was too slow to pull the trigger? Especially at a position like running back, where scholarships are extremely limited, you got to be quick to the draw to secure your spot at a top program like Ohio State.

Any way you slice this, it just seems like sour grapes to me. Hopefully at full health in 2023, Henderson and Pryor can have big seasons for the Buckeyes, and let Edwards understand why Alford was happy to have them in Columbus.