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HOUSTON — As Jim Harbaugh exited the platform where he hoisted the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy, celebrating the culmination of a 15-0 season, he broke into a huge smile when he saw a familiar face.

Kevin Edwards Sr., the father of running back Donovan Edwards, wrapped Harbaugh in a big hug. The two men talked about how proud they were of Edwards. Then they told each other they loved them.

It wasn’t a surprise that Michigan tried to use its ground game to reduce Washington to a pulp in its 34-13 win. And that it did, running for 303 yards — Washington had 301 total yards — but Blake Corum had been the pace-setter all season for the Wolverines. On Monday night, it was Edwards who started off the game by electrifying NRG Stadium with 41- and 46-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter, becoming the first player since the BCS launched in 1998 to have multiple 40-yard touchdown runs in a championship game. He finished the game with 104 yards on just six carries.

Edwards and Corum (21 carries for 134 yards and 2 TDs) became the first pair of teammates with 100 rushing yards and two TDs each since Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson did the same against Texas in the 2010 BCS Championship game.

“I was so excited for Donovan because I just felt like he needed that,” Corum said. “He’s back. Dono is back.”

Back to a star turn in a massive game, after months of waiting, which so far has been the story of Edwards’ Michigan career.

Edwards averaged just 28.1 yards in 14 games this year before Monday night’s performance. He had only three touchdowns, tying the three he had two years ago as a freshman when he had just 35 carries all season. He reached the 50-yard mark just twice this season, with exactly 50 yards on nine carries against Bowling Green and 52 yards on 10 attempts against Penn State. His longest carry of the season was 22 yards.

Then he doubled that twice in the first quarter.

“It’s a beautiful feeling,” Edwards said on the field after the game. “Everything is just relief right now.”

Relief from a self-imposed burden he’d placed on himself to live up to his own massive expectations. That’s what happens when you’re a star from the time you’re in pee-wee football. Edwards said after the game that he had just reconnected with his therapist to deal with some of the pressure.

“I was stressing myself,” Edwards said, as streamers and confetti fell around him. “I was putting pressure on myself that I shouldn’t. I just let everything be free.”

He spoke to the crowds of reporters at media day Saturday about the importance of mental health. And he admits that his frustrations this seasons had hindered him.

“It’s up to you to be able to rise to the occasion and remember the down times,” he said. “Of course I have the feeling of being flustered, frustrated, and I definitely have been working on that. I just feel like this year has been a blessing for me. I’m in a national championship game. I have three Big Ten championship rings. I just feel like regardless of how this year has gone for me, there has been a lot more blessings in what I’ve been going through beyond football. Even though I know I’m still going to be great at football.”

And that he was Monday night, showcasing the vision and speed that made him the No. 68 player in the 2021 ESPN 300, a Michigan high school star from West Bloomfield Township, about 40 miles from Ann Arbor who chose Michigan over Georgia, Notre Dame and Oklahoma, among others. He waited his turn as a freshman, then surged last season, particularly in big games.

In 2022, Edwards fought through nagging injuries to play in 11 games with three starts, starring in wins over No. 9 Penn State (16 carries, 173 rushing yards) and No. 4 Ohio State.

In that game against the Buckeyes, Edwards filled in for the ailing Corum under the searing lights of The Game, playing with a cast on his right hand but ripping off 85- and 75-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to polish off a 45-23 win at Ohio Stadium, finishing with 216 yards on 22 carries.

He looked like a breakout star, adding 185 yards and a touchdown against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship game and another 119 yards in the CFP semifinal loss to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.

That loss left the Wolverines with a bad taste in their mouths. Corum decided to return for another chance at hoisting the trophy, and Edwards once again took a back seat.

Edwards sat and watched as Corum ran for 27 touchdowns, a Michigan single-season record and third-best total in Big Ten history. And he watched as Corum ran for 1,265 yards to his 511 (including the 104 in the win over the Huskies).

But he predicted he would have his big moment eventually in November, on the Michigan athletic department’s podcast, “In the Trenches.”

“It’s not how I envisioned it to be, but it’s OK, because I’m going to keep chipping,” Edwards said. “My game is going to come.”

That big game wasn’t Dec. 2, when he made just his fourth career start in the Big Ten Championship game against Iowa, but had four carries for 28 yards. It wasn’t in the Rose Bowl, when he had four carries for 11 yards in Michigan’s 27-20 CFP semifinal win over Alabama. Instead, it came in the biggest of games.

Afterward, his father embraced Harbaugh, then pondered the path that brought them all together in this moment.

“Don lost his mom when he was 2 years old [to cancer],” Kevin Edwards Sr. said. “It was hard for all of us. I have another son, too. Three boys in the house, no mom. I had to do nature, and I had to do nurturing. We had to do counseling. I had to do counseling. Nothing wrong with it.”

On both long touchdowns, Edwards ran into a pack in the line, made a move and raced through the Washington secondary. On the first one, he took a quick step to the left, accelerating out of traffic for a 41-yard run with 10:14 left in the first quarter. About eight minutes later, he took another handoff up the middle, bounced it off the right tackle, then sprinted 46 yards for a second score. His 87 rushing yards were the most by any player in the first quarter of a CFP game. His teammates couldn’t have been prouder.

“That’s my guy,” Corum said. “I’m glad I got to share the backfield with Donovan. … If he ever needed anything, best believe I’d be there for him.”

“I’ve been honored to be his roommate for two years,” quarterback J.J. McCarthy said. “Just knowing everything he goes through behind the scenes and just the man he is on a day-to-day basis, this couldn’t have been a better moment for him to show out and show the world who he really is. I’m just so frickin’ happy for the guy.”

Kevin Edwards Sr. said he’s got a great relationship with Harbaugh, who he calls “the best coach in the world.”

Corum said he hoped Edwards could continue to hold strong, saying he hopes he can just celebrate the moment and not think about any decisions about his future at Michigan. His dad certainly was taking in the moment.

“He’s been very, very patient, but look what we got,” the elder Edwards said. “Look what we have. I mean, come on now. We have a national championship. I’m sure any kid would want to be here right now. So just wait your turn and just keep the faith and be patient.”

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Utes’ Whittingham reenergized after ’24 free fall

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Utes' Whittingham reenergized after '24 free fall

FRISCO, Texas — A dynamic new quarterback, a new offensive system and two projected first-round picks up front have Utah coach Kyle Whittingham feeling enthusiastic about the Utes’ chances of bouncing back from a disastrous debut season in the Big 12.

Utah was voted No. 1 in the Big 12 preseason poll last year after joining from the Pac-12, but a brutal run of injuries and inconsistency resulted in a seven-game conference losing streak and a 5-7 finish — the program’s first losing season since 2013.

After weeks of contemplation about his future and what was best for the program, Whittingham, the third-longest-tenured head coach in FBS, decided in December to return for his 21st season with the Utes.

“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note,” Whittingham told ESPN at Big 12 media days Wednesday. “It was too frustrating, too disappointing. As much as college football has changed with all the other factors that might pull you away, that was the overriding reason: That’s not us, that’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”

“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note. It was too frustrating, too disappointing. … That’s not us. That’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham on going 5-7 in 2024

Whittingham and Utes defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley conducted a national search for a new offensive coordinator and quickly zeroed in on New Mexico‘s Jason Beck. Then they managed to land Devon Dampier, Beck’s first-team All-Mountain West quarterback, via the transfer portal.

After finishing 11th nationally in total offense with 3,934 yards and 31 total touchdowns and putting up the fourth-most rushing yards (1,166) among all FBS starters, Dampier followed his coach to Salt Lake City and immediately asserted himself as a difference-maker for a program that had to start four different QBs in 2024.

“He’s a terrific athlete,” Whittingham said. “He’s a guy that, if spring is any indication, he’s an exciting player, and we can’t wait to watch him this season. … He’s got that ‘it’ factor. He’s a leader. Needless to say, very excited to see what he does for us.”

They’ve surrounded Dampier with 21 more newcomers via the transfer portal and will protect him with two returning starters at tackle in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, who are projected first-round NFL draft picks by ESPN’s Matt Miller.

“We feel they’re the best tandem in the country,” Whittingham said. “The offensive line in general, I feel, it’s the best since I’ve been there. And that’s quite a statement. We’ve had some really good offensive lines. We’ve got two first-rounders and three seniors inside that have played a lot of good football for us. That better be a strength of ours, and that’s what we’re counting on.”

Whittingham has previously said he did not want to coach past the age of 65. Now that he’s 65, he acknowledges that he might’ve arrived at a different decision about his future had the Utes ended up winning the Big 12 in 2024. He is reenergized about getting them back into contention, but he’s not ready to say whether this season might be his last.

“The best answer I can give you is, right now, I’m excited and passionate about going to work every single day,” Whittingham said. “As soon as that changes, I’ll know it’s time. I’m just counting on knowing when the time is right. I can’t tell you exactly what the circumstances will be other than losing the fire in the belly.”

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MLB to utilize ABS challenge system during ASG

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MLB to utilize ABS challenge system during ASG

The automated ball-strike system is coming to the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.

MLB officials added the feature to the annual exhibition game knowing it could be a precursor to becoming a permanent part of the major leagues as soon as next year.

The same process used this past spring training will be used for the Midsummer Classic: Each team will be given two challenges with the ability to retain them if successful. Only a pitcher, catcher or hitter can ask for a challenge and it has to happen almost immediately after the pitch. The player will tap his hat or helmet indicating to the umpire he wants to challenge while any help from the dugout or other players on the field is not allowed.

MLB officials say 72% of fans who were polled during spring training said the impact of ABS on their experience at the game was a “positive” one. Sixty-nine percent said they’d like it part of the game moving forward. Just 10% expressed negativity toward it.

MLB’s competition committee will meet later this summer to determine if ABS will be instituted next season after the league tested the robotic system throughout the minor leagues and spring training in recent years. Like almost any rule change, there were mixed reviews from players about using ABS but nearly all parties agree on one point: They prefer a challenge system as opposed to the technology calling every pitch.

As was the case in spring training, once a review is initiated, an animated replay of the pitch will be shown on the scoreboard and the home plate umpire will either uphold the call or overturn it. ABS uses Hawk-Eye system technology which tracks the pitch trajectory and location in relation to the strike zone, providing an instant assessment which can be relayed to the home plate umpire.

The All-Star Game will be played at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday.

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Royals sign former Cy Young winner Keuchel

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Royals sign former Cy Young winner Keuchel

The Kansas City Royals have signed former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel to a minor league contract, the team announced Wednesday.

The 37-year-old left-hander will start at Triple-A Omaha and will earn a prorated $2 million salary if he reaches the big leagues, sources tell ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Keuchel has not pitched in the majors for nearly a full calendar year. He elected to become a free agent on July 18, 2024, after being designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers.

In four starts with the Brewers last season, Keuchel had a 5.40 ERA in 16 2/3 innings without a decision. In 13 major league seasons, the 2015 American League Cy Young winner with the Houston Astros is 103-92 with a 4.04 ERA in 282 appearances (267 starts).

After pitching his first seven seasons with the Astros, Keuchel has made appearances for six different teams since 2019. He won a World Series with Houston in 2017 and is a two-time All-Star selection and five-time Gold Glove winner.

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.

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