WEST BLOOMFIELD >> Donovan Edwards ran drills with the kids attending his third football camp at West Bloomfield High, had a few one-on-one conversations with the them, and then posed for photos and signed a few shirts with “Sack the Stigma” messaging in the background.

Edwards, who is entering his senior season at Michigan, is expected to be the Wolverines’ lead running back and overall team leader. That’s obviously important to him but not the only important aspect of his life.

Discussing mental health openly and publicly has become a big part of who Edwards has become since he began addressing his mental health concerns last season during the Wolverines’ postseason run, including at the podium during a media day ahead of the national title game.

There, before a large number of national media members, Edwards spoke about how Mike Hart, his then-position coach at Michigan, referred him to a therapist to help him navigate mental health issues with which he was struggling.

Edwards has made mental health a top priority and wants to help others.

“I got my fire back,” Edwards said after his most recent camp at West Bloomfield High last weekend. “I did lose it.”

During the 2022 season, Edwards rushed for 991 yards on 140 carries and had seven touchdowns playing behind Blake Corum. Last season, with Corum still as the lead back, Edwards, who was slowed early because of injury, finished with 497 yards on 119 carries and had five touchdowns, including two in the national title game. He also has 714 career receiving yards.

But it was last season when he lost that fire and confidence. He wasn’t bouncing back as quickly as he hoped from offseason surgery, he had some lingering physical issues and, frankly, he didn’t feel needed.

“I lost it just because once you feel like you know your capabilities, and you’re feeling like you’re not getting those certain plays and you feel like you’re not the one that’s relied on, then you’re gonna be like, ‘OK, they don’t need me,’” Edwards told The Detroit News. “But they do need you.

“I realized my impact was not shunning people. I realized my impact was being a great teammate. My impact was, even though it wasn’t how I wanted it to be, which is perfectly fine, my impact is on the guys around me. Them being like, ‘We know what he can do, and it’s not happening for him right now, but at the end, he still has a smile on his face. He’s being loving amongst other people.’ I think that’s what it’s all about, and that’s why I’m grateful I went to Michigan, because Michigan has made me a man and sharpened me to be a great player. But a better man.”

Edwards credits Michigan donor Stephen Eisenberg, whose family is very much involved in mental health well-being at UM with the Eisenberg Family Depression Center as the centerpiece, for encouraging him to use his platform as an athlete to bring more awareness.

“I’ve come to realize that people think athletes don’t have anything going on, that they’re just a supernatural person,” Edwards said. “That’s far beyond the case. We bleed just like how a normal human bleeds, and we’re regular people at the end of the day.

“I just felt it’s something I’m always willing to do. I’m willing to be open. I’m willing to inspire people to know that even though they’re going through a hard time, that it’s OK because all of us at one point or another are going to go through a struggle and a hard time. I just want people to know that they’re not going through those things alone. I guess it’s just something I want to be able to tell people that I don’t care who you are or what you do, that at the end, you have feelings too, and everything’s not always going to be OK but they can be.”

Edwards said so far this year he has done about 34 hours of community service related to “sack the stigma.” He said that being able to speak publicly about his mental health helped him regain his confidence and he hopes to help others.

“You’re always told to be strong and men aren’t supposed to cry and all that,” Edwards said. “But I feel like as more men are being are being open about what they’re going through, it allows other people to see that they’re struggling, too. And struggling is perfectly fine, because that’s just human nature. We’re all going to struggle.”

“So that’s really what Don Gives is about — really helping people and to give back to the community and to unite people to be one with each other.”

During spring practice, players across the team spoke about Edwards stepping up as a leader. As the season nears, he said that being able to speak freely about his mental health has changed his approach to football and his day-to-day life.

“I’m locked in. I’m ready to go,” said Edwards, who also said he plans to keep his youth camp going year after year. “I’ve sharpened my game mentally more than physically, and the physically part is going to come. But for me, it’s about, take a deep breath every single play, relax and make that play the best play that I can make it. It’s also not stressing myself or putting expectations on myself.

“I realized that football is a little bit of inconsistencies, right? You might have 5 yards. You might have 10-, 20-yard runs. You also might have a minus-2. You might also have a 1-yard gain. So for me, it’s just getting to the field and getting into the rhythm of the game. I don’t always have to be Superman out there. I could just go out there and go get an 8-yard gain, because the 8-yard gain is just as good as a 20-yard gain.”

And gaining perspective is probably even bigger. Edwards looked at his logo for Don Gives, interlocked arms that form an unbreakable bond, and said it represents who he is now.

“It’s people uniting together,” he said. “And I feel like that’s what all of our ultimate purpose in life is, just to unite together and be one.”