On Aug. 23, a video went viral of 

a police officer shooting a Black man 
named Jacob Blake seven times in his 
back in front of his family in Kenosha, 
Wisc. Yet another disturbing story of 
police brutality, the shooting of Blake 
sent shockwaves to the growing 
protests and marches that had been 
happening since June in cities across 
the country. 

Three days later, the Milwaukee 

Bucks’ players decided that it was 
not appropriate to continue playing 
sports as the country continued to 
burn both physically and spiritually. 
The ensuing league-wide boycott 
cancelled 
the 
remaining 
NBA 

games for several days, all while 
in the midst of a hotly contested 
playoff. The rest of the sports world 
followed, as athletes demonstrated 
that there were bigger things at play 
than sports.

Seeing the horrific videos and 

hearing about the stories that have 
been circulating these past few 
months, Michigan senior defensive 
lineman Kwity Paye, along with 
many other athletes around the 
country, felt that it was too hard to 
continue to do his job and go along 
with his normal life.

“During camp, a lot of news was 

breaking out about police killing a 
Black man,” Paye told The Daily. “A 
lot of people were outraged with all 
the social injustice going on.”

Paye and graduate Michigan 

defensive lineman Carlo Kemp 
couldn’t stand being complacent, 
so they decided to take action. The 
one thing they could control was 

getting themselves and their team 
registered to vote. 

“It was something that we’ve 

wanted for a while,” Paye said, “For 
me, although I have never voted 
before, it was something that I felt 
like I had to do. To make change, the 
change I want, it starts with voting 
and getting registered was the first 
step in doing that.”

So, last Thursday, Paye and Kemp 

led an initiative to register the 
Michigan football team to vote in the 
upcoming November election. 

“There was one day after practice,” 

Paye said, “me and Carlo had to call 
(director of player personnel) Sean 
Magee one day a while ago and we 
were like ‘Is it possible for the whole 

team to get registered to vote?’ … 
One day randomly after practice, we 
walk into the locker room and the 
table was set up and they got guys 
registered to vote.”

Elections are a staple of a 

democracy, and the best way that 
citizens can have an immediate 
impact on their community is by 
choosing the people they think fit 
their beliefs and ideas on how to 
solve issues and lead. 

However, the past few years, 

many 
people, 
especially 
young 

people, have refrained from voting 
and neglected their right. In 2016, 
only 58.1% of voting-eligible people 
turned out to vote and despite young 
people (18-29 year olds) making up 

a third of those people, only half of 
them actually voted. 

“For a while,” Paye said, “the older 

generation thought that we weren’t 
the type to fight back or the type to 
go out and do these protests or the 
type to stand up for what we think 
is right.” 

But this election feels different 

from the rest. There’s so much at 
stake as this country handles the 
worst pandemic seen in a century, 
as well as the uprising of sweeping 
social movements. Paye and many 
other community leaders agree that 
now is the right time for people to get 
active in making decisions that could 
affect their lives by using their right 
to vote.

“I would say it is just really 

different,” Paye said, “... We are 
getting a lot more of the younger 
generation into voting, because we 
have seen what has happened in past 
years where our generation doesn’t 
vote. We don’t get what we want in 
office, so for us, it’s a duty.”

Many young athletes argue that 

getting involved in the voting process 
is the best way to do that. On June 
22, LeBron James and his business 
team created ‘More than a Vote,’ an 
organization — consisting of Black 
athletes and artists — to encourage 
participation in elections and make 
it easier for people to register and 
request ballots. 

Like James, Paye and Kemp 

have realized the potential for 
using their platform for good. They 
decided to start internally by getting 
themselves registered, before going 
out and encouraging others to do the 
same. 

“We just wanted to do our part,” 

Paye said. “Make sure that we’re 
voting. Just because the stuff 
that’s going on right now, it’s just 
ridiculous.”

Most 
of 
Kemp 
and 
Paye’s 

teammates were not even registered 
to vote prior to this month, so they 
jumped at this opportunity that 
Kemp and Paye provided. 

“It was just something as a world, 

we have to take on and vote and 
change the world and make it a 
better place,” senior defensive back 
Brad Hawkins said. “We preach that 
at the university, staying together 
and being a family. That’s something 
that was helpful for us and we took 
pride in everyone getting registered 
to vote.”

Michigan football players know 

what’s at stake come November, 
and they want to make sure they 
do their part to fight for the issues 
they think are important for them. 
They understand that — as young 
people — they are the future, and the 
issues present now are ones that will 
continue to affect them unless any 
change happens. 

“The next generation is gonna be 

possibly taking over this country,” 
Paye said, “and we are gonna 
have to be ones to make decisions. 
The younger generation has the 
obligation to start doing things 
now and showing that they can 
be responsible enough in the near 
future to fix what’s wrong and just 
do what’s right by the other citizens.”

18 — Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

With football’s return on the 

horizon, Michigan ready to play

When Josh Ross typed “Big 

Ten” into Twitter’s search 
bar Wednesday morning, it 
showed the senior linebacker 
everything he wanted to know. 

In five weeks, he would be 

playing football.

“We were so excited hearing 

that news,” Ross said. “Finally! 
That’s how I was feeling, 
‘Finally!’ We’ve been putting 
so much work in preparing 
and it’s just a blessing we get 
to play this fall.”

Since the announcement, 

that’s 
been 
the 
prevailing 

feeling among the Michigan 
football team, which hasn’t 
stopped 
practicing 
since 

returning to campus in June. 
The Wolverines have made it a 
point to stay ready to play.

Hearing the news changed 

the 
tenor 
of 
Michigan’s 

practice on Wednesday. The 
intensity 
was 
higher. 
The 

adrenaline, too. Football was 
back. 

Well, 
with 
just 
a 
few 

changes.

The Big Ten announced 

that it would not allow general 
ticket 
sales 
for 
the 
2020 

season, with the only potential 
recipients being families of 
players and staff. Michigan 
president 
Mark 
Schlissel 

confirmed Thursday that there 
would be no fans in the stands 
at Michigan Stadium. But at 
this point, the Wolverines 
don’t care how many fans 
there are as long as it means 
they get to play football.

“At the end of the day I 

just want to play,” Ross said. 
“Regardless 
of 
if 
there’s 

people in the stands, we can 
be playing in Schembechler 
(Hall). I just want to play at 
the end of the day. It might be a 
little weird, but it don’t matter, 
we wanna go out there and 
play and hit.”

Another 
difference 
this 

year is part of what enabled 
the Big Ten’s return — a strict 
set of protocols. Among them 
is a rule that if at least 5% of 
a team’s tests are positive and 
7.5% of the team population 
tests positive in a seven-
day period, that team must 
shut down practice for seven 
days. Additionally, any player 
who tests positive can only 
return after a minimum of 
21 days post-diagnosis, all in 
a nine-week schedule with 
no bye weeks. Although the 
protocols are strict, Michigan 
is prepared to meet them. 
After all, the Wolverines have 
already gone three months 
without a positive test thanks 
to 
strong 
enforcement. 

The 
new 
thresholds 
add 

an 
additional 
incentive 
to 

comply with social distancing 
requirements.

“When they said that, I’m 

not leaving the house unless 
I’m at (Schembechler),” Ross 
said. “I’m not leaving, I’m not 
going anywhere. Of course if I 
got class, but other than that, 
I’m in my apartment.”

Several notable players — 

wide receiver Nico Collins, 
cornerback 
Ambry 
Thomas 

and offensive tackle Jalen 
Mayfield 
— 
have 
already 

declared for the draft, though 
Thomas indicated on Big Ten 
Radio on Thursday that he may 
be able to return. But many 
2019 starters are back. Senior 
defensive lineman Kwity Paye 
expressed his intention to play 
in 2020 on Twitter.

And 
fifth-year 
senior 

running back Chris Evans is 
returning from suspension.

Even with several losses on 

the offensive side — including 
all 
five 
starting 
offensive 

linemen, Collins and fellow 
receivers Donovan Peoples-
Jones and Tarik Black — the 
returning players on that side 
of the ball are steadfast in 
their confidence that they’ll 
be ready to go. Among those 
waiting in the wings are 
junior quarterback Joe Milton, 
presumed to be the starter, and 
wide receivers Giles Jackson, 
Cornelius Johnson and Mike 
Sainristil, who all saw time at 
the position in 2019.

“I wouldn’t say it really 

feels different,” Jackson said. 
“We’re rolling on offense. It 
doesn’t feel like we’ve really 
missed a beat, honestly. If 
you just look out there, yeah, 
there’s new people out there 
but you can’t tell. We look 
good.”

For now, the next step for 

Michigan is getting in pads, a 
step previously not allowed by 
the Big Ten. Ross emphasized 
how much he’s missed padded 
practice, noting the tenacity 
of hitting another player. But 
there’s further significance, 
too: Each day the players 
spend in pads will be one day 
closer to the return of games.

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

Senior linebacker Josh Ross is looking forward to getting back on the field at Michigan Stadium this fall.

Kwity Paye and Carlo Kemp lead initiative to
help Michigan football team register to vote

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Senior defensive lineman Kwity Paye, along with teammate Carlo Kemp, led an initiative to help get the Michigan football team registered to vote.

In Donovan Edwards, Michigan has its 

chance to win back the mitten

OAK PARK — Late Friday 

night, in the moments before the 
floodlights flicked off at Oak Park 
High School, Donovan Edwards 
stood surrounded by media, 
answering a slew of questions 
about his future. This is the 
situation the West Bloomfield 
running back finds himself in 
now, as a blue-chip prospect in 
the backyard of a school that so 
desperately needs him.

When he speaks, a group 

of reporters swarms, as if he’s 
already at Michigan — or Georgia 
or Oklahoma or any of the other 
major Division I programs in 
pursuit of his talents. And when 
he’s done, the lights darken, as if 
they had waited for the night’s 
brightest star to be done dazzling.

Friday, 
by 
Edwards’ 
own 

admission, 
wasn’t 
his 
finest 

performance. Quarterback Alex 
Short and running back Dillon 
Tatum both saw more usage as 
West Bloomfield romped to a 
39-0 win. But when the Lakers 
needed him, Edwards stepped up, 
rushing for three touchdowns and 
flashing a little bit of everything 
that makes him the top player on 
Michigan’s 2021 board.

“My ability to run up the field 

to score a touchdown, I feel as 
though it’s unmatched,” Edwards 
said after the game.

For the Wolverines, though, 

that’s not why Edwards matters 
so much.

Per 
247Sports 
composite 

rankings, he’s the 36th-ranked 
player in the 2021 class. That’s 
10 
spots 
higher 
than 
Zach 

Charbonnet was in 2019 and a few 
dozen higher than Blake Corum 
was last year. On the field, he 
would combine with JJ McCarthy 
to create a tantalizingly talented 
offensive duo. He would, in other 
words, be critical to Michigan’s 
short-term success.

But the Wolverines’ 2021 class 

would still be dwarfed by Ohio 
State’s. Jim Harbaugh would 
still face an uphill battle to carry 
Michigan to the heights most 
envisioned when he arrived in 
Ann Arbor five years ago.

Here in Metro Detroit, though, 

Edwards’ 
commitment 
would 

represent a shifting of the tides.

“Given the fact that he’s so 

highly ranked and he’s right in 
their backyard and Michigan led 
very early on big time, it would be 
a massive disappointment if they 
couldn’t get that one done,” Steve 
Lorenz, a recruiting analyst at 
247Sports, said.

For years, even as Harbaugh 

has consistently compiled top-
ranked recruiting classes, he’s 
faced questions in Metro Detroit. 
Last 
month, 
Rocco 
Spindler 

committed to Notre Dame amid 
heavy pursuit from Michigan. 
In 2020, Justin Rodgers — the 
state’s top recruit — ended up 
at Kentucky. The year before, it 
was Devontae Dobbs and Julian 
Barnett out of Belleville High 
School, both of whom went to 
Michigan State.

Perhaps, Lorenz says, these 

struggles 
are 
blown 
out 
of 

proportion 
by 
perception. 

Recruiting in 2020 requires a 
national footprint. But at the 
same time, it’s true that Ohio 
State doesn’t miss out on the top 
recruits in Ohio. Michigan, for 

whatever reason, misses out on 
the top recruits in Michigan.

In Edwards, the Wolverines 

have the chance to change that.

“He’s a kid that a lot of kids are 

following , his lead and his path on 
things,” Ron Bellamy, Edwards’ 
coach at West Bloomfield, said 
when asked whether Edwards 
could help Michigan’s future 
recruiting in Metro Detroit. “He’s 
a kid that whatever college he 
chooses, he’s going to entice kids 
to maybe follow his path.”

Bellamy is careful to play 

politics, too. When asked whether 
Michigan would be impacted in 
the long term if Edwards selects 
Georgia or Oklahoma, he says 
no, citing the Wolverines’ ability 
to identify talent. It’s hard to 
comport that, though, with “he’s 
going to entice kids to maybe 
follow his path.”

That’s 
why 
Michigan 
has 

known Edwards is a player they 
had to have since he started high 
school, if not earlier. And it’s why, 
before games, Michigan running 
backs’ coach Jay Harbaugh calls 
Edwards to give him pointers 
and forge a relationship beyond 
football.

“The 
people 
I’m 
gonna 

be around every single day,” 
Edwards said of what he’s looking 
for in a school. “The coaches’ 
personalities, just being around a 
great atmosphere, an atmosphere 
that feels just like home.”

Come 
December, 
when 

Edwards is expecting to make his 
decision, that’s what Michigan 
will need to provide.

If the Wolverines can deliver, 

they’ll land not only a future star 
in their backfield, but an inroads 
to reclaiming their backyard.

BRANDON TRACHTENBERG

Daily Sports Writer

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

Running back Donovan Edwards is a recruit that Michigan needs in order to assert itself in the state.

THEO MACKIE

Managing Sports Editor

