Thomas' Can-Do Spirit Makes a Difference for Wolverines
11/27/2019 2:42:00 PM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The speed, quickness and play-making ability University of Michigan cornerback Ambry Thomas possesses were evident from the first football he ever played. Thomas suited up for the Detroit Police Athletic League Broncos as a five-year-old and turned in a play that would've been an internet sensation had anyone recorded it.
Thomas, wearing a helmet and shoulder pads that seemed larger than he was, caught a pass and began running toward the end zone. Only there was one problem. He was heading toward the wrong end zone.
"It was a screen pass," said Thomas, "and after I caught it, I don't know why I did it, but I looked and saw nobody down the other way. So, I ran that way. Then I remembered, and I turned around and started running the other way, and then everyone was chasing me."
By the time little Ambry reversed field, he had 80 yards to cover before scoring a touchdown, but he did it.
Thomas quickly improved his field awareness, and his skills grew and grew over the years. When he made his first spectacular play as a Wolverine in 2018 -- a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown at Notre Dame -- he never had to reverse field.
And he has taken his contributions up another notch this season as a junior, replacing NFL draft pick David Long and playing the corner on the opposite side of the field from senior Lavert Hill, his Detroit King High teammate.
Thomas shares the team lead with Hill at three interceptions and has four pass breakups. He also has stepped up to make 32 tackles (three for lost yardage) with a pair of fumble recoveries.
The No. 10-ranked Wolverines will need Thomas to make his impact all over the field Saturday (Nov. 30) against No. 2 Ohio State, which ranks sixth nationally and leads the Big Ten with 530.4 yards total offense per game.
Quarterback Justin Fields has thrown for 2,352 yards with 33 touchdowns and one interception, and tailback J.K. Dobbins has run for 1,446 yards and 15 touchdowns. Chris Olave (39 receptions for 637 yards and 10 touchdowns) and K.J. Hill (42 catches for 469 yards and seven touchdowns) lead the receiver corps.
Thomas is a strong one-on-one coverage defender who can square up and make tough tackles, and his talents will be as important as ever in this matchup.
"He's a great athlete," Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said of Thomas. "He's a great player and he's smart. He's a Michigan guy all the way. He wants to make himself great and he wants to make Michigan great. He's a great guy and he's high drive."
Thomas has what coaches call "a high motor," meaning he plays in the highest gear for optimum speed and effort. He also, foremost, plays for Michigan and mentors the younger defensive backs just as Jourdan Lewis and others such as Long and Hill did in taking him under their wings.
"If you make the players under you better," said Thomas, "it makes the program stronger. That's something I learned from high school. You gave back to the players coming up behind you, and that's what I was taught to do. It makes the team better.
"Those guys who came before me at Michigan taught me what they know, and I put some of their stuff together and made it into my own, finding the way that works best for me."
Thomas wore a black sweatshirt with a white skull and crossbones on it, along with the words: "DETROIT MUSCLE 2019." It was given to him by Hill.
"When you get players from Detroit," said Thomas, "you get hungry players, confident players. That attitude is all that you were taught -- to be confident, be hungry. Anything that hits you in life, you've got to fight through it. That's the mentality you get."
Few high school teammates get to start together in a major college program, but Ambry and Lavert are living that dream.
"We were roommates during my freshman year in the dorm," said Thomas. "Lavert is the one who teaches me a lot now that those other guys are gone. I ask him certain questions and it helps my game out."
Lewis, a Detroit Cass Tech product now with the Dallas Cowboys, had a tremendous impact in mentoring Thomas while he was growing up. Lewis, an All-American in both 2015 and 2016, was departing Ann Arbor when Thomas was arriving.
"I watched Jourdan's style and demeanor on the field," said Thomas. "He took the field feeling he was the best and was a very confident player. That's what I try to replicate because that's what I think I am.
"I'm just a competitor. I line up in front of a guy and I think I'm better than him automatically. I know my preparation and the game plan is going to get me ready."
Thomas might be soft-spoken off the field, but he's a feisty, in-your-face guy on it. He's the definition of a ball hawk, whether it is a thrown pass or on a fumble. He has a true hunger for the ball, going at it like a dog after a bone.
His five career fumble recoveries are tied for seventh place at Michigan, and he is two recoveries away from tying for the record held by All-America linebacker Ron Simpkins (1976-79), All-America defensive lineman Mike Hammerstein (1981-85) and outside linebacker Dominic Tedesco (1975-77).
"You've just always got to be ready because the play you're in might be the play when it happens," said Thomas. "That's just something I always think about on the field so I can really key in on my assignment and be alert for plays like fumbles. If I see someone going for the ball, I'm looking for it coming out or on the ground."
His toughness and focus also showed in battling colitis, which provided stomach pain so severe that on June 10 he ended up in the emergency room at University of Michigan Hospital. He lost 35 pounds, spent about one month in the hospital, and was depressed while battling it because he so badly wanted to get ready for the season. He said doctors did not believe he could play this year, and taking a redshirt season was introduced as a possibility.
Thomas did not want to hear any of that.
"That is something I set myself to do -- get on that field and play," said Thomas. "What I went through, and no matter what you go through, it's what you've got to do. It all ties into my trust in God to keep persevering."
Thomas did stair laps at the hospital, ate as much as he could, worked out with his father, Jermaine Thomas, and brother, Armon Thomas, and amazingly said he felt 100 percent about two weeks after beginning the recovery process.
"I spent the first week at home," said Thomas, "and began by just walking around the track. I couldn't run. But around Aug. 20, I started feeling good. I knew I wasn't all the way back, but I was able to run again."
He returned full-go for practice the week of the first game.
That Aug. 31 season opener with Middle Tennessee State was Thomas' first start, and he had huge game, making an interception, recovering a fumble, and getting a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
Any doubts about his readiness were answered by that performance.
"I thought it was a blessing," said Thomas. "When I got back to working out, I knew I had to hit it extra hard, and it was something I was so grateful for."
He thanked many in his family, friends, teammates, coaches and team staff members for getting him through a tough time. But when asked who his anchor was, Ambry didn't hesitate.
"That's my mother (Carmen Thomas), by far," he said. "She's been tremendous. I have four siblings, and she's always making sure we're fed, taking care of us. She's a nurse's assistant and works hard, too. She took us to our sports activities. Me and my younger brother play football."
Ambry shares the first three letters of first names with his sister.
"It's a unique name," said Ambry, "and my twin sister is named Amber. She goes to school at Oakland (University)."
His cousin, Michigan backup cornerback Jaylen Kelly-Powell, "is a blessing to have here," added Ambry.
"I watch him on the field, and he watches me on the field," said Thomas. "It's like having another set of eyes."
Thomas also was a standout high school receiver, making 34 catches for 903 yards (a whopping 26.6 yards per catch) and 14 touchdowns as a senior.
"I know that the receiver tries to get DBs on their toes," said Thomas. "Knowing that as a DB, I just have to be patient and have good eyes. And I know receivers don't like hands on them. So, if you watch film and see a receiver not comfortable with that, that's what I'm going to attack in the game."
However, he said there are no plans for him to go the Charles Woodson route and become a two-way player.
"Probably not," Thomas said with a smile. "I've got my job to do on this team."
Thomas knew that wearing No. 1 for the Wolverines required maintaining the "high standard" of others, many of them wide receiver stars, who have worn numero uno.
It all began with Anthony Carter, a three-time All-America wide receiver from 1980-82 and team captain. Carter was special to Wolverine coach Bo Schembechler in every way, and Schembechler began holding No. 1 for special recruits.
"I knew there was a high standard to maintain with that No. 1," said Thomas. "It makes me feel like I've always got to be on edge and know my assignments because of the greats that wore it."
He's a study in pursuing greatness, and he always finds a way to succeed. That much hasn't changed since his crazy, circuitous touchdown reception as a five-year-old.
