The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787035
MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 91 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE MEASURABLES • At Nike's The Opening last summer, Thomas ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash and ran the 20-yard shuttle in 3.90 seconds (the fifth-fastest time in the event). He also recorded a 35.9- inch vertical jump and a 35.0-foot power throw. He finished the finals in Beaverton, Ore., with a Nike+ Football Rating of 118.89. STATISTICS • As a senior, Thomas recorded 44 tackles, three intercep- tions and 14 pass breakups. On offense, he caught 34 passes for 903 yards (26.6 yards per catch) and scored 14 receiving touchdowns. He also returned a punt and a kickoff for touch- downs for the two-time Division 2 state champions. • Missed half of his junior season due to injury but still man- aged more than 800 yards receiving, 10 touchdowns, three return touchdowns and two interceptions. • Scored eight touchdowns and had four interceptions as a sophomore. HONORS • A second-team selection to the MaxPreps 2016 All-Amer- ica squad. • Helped Martin Luther King High School to the Division II state championship his junior and senior seasons. • All-USA Michigan first-team defensive back in 2016. • Selected to the AP All-State Division 1-2 first team as a wide receiver in his senior season. • Named to the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Team as a defensive back his senior season. • Was No. 2 on the Detroit News Blue Chip List and the Detroit Free Press Fab 50, both are postseason rankings of Michigan's top senior football players. • As a junior, received honorable mention notice for the Detroit News All-State team at cornerback and was a second- team selection on the newspaper's All-Metro Detroit squad. • Finished among the top 10 for MLive's Michigan High School Football Player of the Year honor as a senior. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 7 but did not record a stat. • Participated in the Rivals Camp Series as a junior (Cleve- land) and senior (Columbus, Ohio). • Attended Nike's The Opening Finals in Beaverton, Ore., July 7-10. • Thomas attended the Sound Mind Sound Body camp before his sophomore and junior seasons. RECRUITMENT • Officially visited Penn State (Nov. 26) and Michigan (Dec. 9). • Committed to Michigan Dec. 6, 2016, after being con- sidered a Michigan State lean throughout the bulk of his recruitment. • Former Michigan running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley and current defensive coordinator Don Brown headed up Thomas' recruitment. NOTABLE • Born Sept. 9, 1999. • Is cousins with fellow signee Jaylen Kelly-Powell. • Thomas is an early enrollee at Michigan. 2017 PROJECTION Thomas is going to have a chance to make his way onto the field as a true freshman. He's thin, but he has great length and college-ready speed. With Jourdan Lewis and Channing Stribling vacating the two starting cornerback spots at U-M, young players are going to have to step up, and Thomas will get a look. THEY SAID IT Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Mike Farrell: "Thomas doesn't have the ball skills or instincts of [former U-M All-American cornerback] Jourdan Lewis, but has better size and could play that role." Rivals.com Midwest Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt: "Thomas is a two-way player for Detroit King, excels as both a slot wide receiver and a cornerback. We see his highest upside being at the cornerback position — he has that fluidity of the hips, has that top-end speed, has that playmaking ability. I think he'll carry on that tradition of Michigan defensive backs out of the Detroit area that have excelled." Detroit Cass Tech Head Coach Thomas Wilcher: "The most important thing about Ambry is that he's just a play- maker. He's going to make plays. If you think he can't make plays against you then you're in for a rude awakening. You have to make sure you have your best player on him. … He's got a lot of talent. I didn't really realize it earlier on, but when I focused on him when I had to, I said, 'Oh man, he's fast, he's good, he's got good hand-eye coordination, he moves really well.' He has the kind of game that makes you excited." AMBRY THOMAS CORNERBACK 6-0 • 170 MARTIN LUTHER KING H.S. DETROIT RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 146 15 2 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 56 6 2 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 62 8 2 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 186 17 3 Thomas is a consensus four-star recruit ranked among the top 200 prospects in the country by every major recruiting service. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN RIVALS.COM MIDWEST RECRUITING ANALYST JOSH HELMHOLDT "I think he'll carry on that tradi- tion of Michigan defensive backs out of the Detroit area that have excelled."