We’ve been talking a lot about Detroit Martin Luther King four-star cornerback Ambry Thomas lately and with good reason. The 5-11, 165-pounder has bonded extremely well with Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown and we now feel confident that it will result in a commitment.
Thomas is the No. 16 cornerback and No. 154 prospect overall in the country. He’s also the No. 2 player in the state of Michigan. Thomas holds offers from Arizona State, Auburn, Iowa, LSU, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, UCLA, and Wisconsin, among others. If the momentum continues, and U-M wins out over all of those schools, it would be considered a major coup because of where things stood just a few shorts months ago.
Last weekend Thomas talked about how Michigan was once an afterthought but had really closed the gap and gotten right back in the thick of things with him.
“I’m not going to lie it was something like that starting off," Thomas said. "Michigan was playing from behind but I can honestly say that Michigan is near the peak now."
Landing a player like Thomas is a big deal based on his talent and potential alone but it’s also a major development in terms of landing a player from Detroit and MLK specifically. Michigan did land four-star cornerback Lavert Hill out of King last year, but he was originally a Cass Tech target and also had an older brother in Delano Hill at U-M. The Michigan coaching staff missed on one of their top wide receiver targets last year in Donnie Corley who is expected to be a key contributor for Michigan State this fall as a true freshman. The Maize and Blue also missed on linebacker Tyriq Thompson two cycles ago, even though his father played at U-M. Nabbing a big timer from King would be a sign of how Harbaugh and his staff have quickly changed the image at Michigan.
Specifically with Thomas, he is the cousin of Michigan target Jaylen Kelly-Powell out of Cass Tech and he’s also very familiar with five-star wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones. Even though Thomas plays for the main rival of Cass Tech there is a familiarity and brotherhood between a lot of the players from Detroit as they’ve known each other and played with each other since they were young. Getting Thomas in the fold would be a positive in both Kelly-Powell and Peoples-Jones's recruitment. The type of momentum this could create in Detroit for the 2017 class and beyond cannot be overstated.
Speaking of Peoples-Jones, we recently discussed an experience he had at the U-M hospital and the type of impact it may have on his recruitment.
Both of Peoples-Jones’ parents are in the medical field and have made the importance of an education very clear to their talented son. The message has definitely gotten through. Peoples-Jones is a 4.0 student at Cass Tech and may end up being class valedictorian by the time his prep career is finished.
After being 'blown away' by what he saw at the hospital while sitting in on a surgery, Peoples-Jones feels like he’s gotten the red-carpet treatment at U-M and really believes he could thrive in that environment.
We are feeling more and more confident about how he feels about Michigan and would be pretty surprised if he leaves the state for college.
Solid collaboration of information here from myself, Chris Balas, and Brandon Justice.
Thomas is the No. 16 cornerback and No. 154 prospect overall in the country. He’s also the No. 2 player in the state of Michigan. Thomas holds offers from Arizona State, Auburn, Iowa, LSU, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, UCLA, and Wisconsin, among others. If the momentum continues, and U-M wins out over all of those schools, it would be considered a major coup because of where things stood just a few shorts months ago.
Last weekend Thomas talked about how Michigan was once an afterthought but had really closed the gap and gotten right back in the thick of things with him.
“I’m not going to lie it was something like that starting off," Thomas said. "Michigan was playing from behind but I can honestly say that Michigan is near the peak now."
Landing a player like Thomas is a big deal based on his talent and potential alone but it’s also a major development in terms of landing a player from Detroit and MLK specifically. Michigan did land four-star cornerback Lavert Hill out of King last year, but he was originally a Cass Tech target and also had an older brother in Delano Hill at U-M. The Michigan coaching staff missed on one of their top wide receiver targets last year in Donnie Corley who is expected to be a key contributor for Michigan State this fall as a true freshman. The Maize and Blue also missed on linebacker Tyriq Thompson two cycles ago, even though his father played at U-M. Nabbing a big timer from King would be a sign of how Harbaugh and his staff have quickly changed the image at Michigan.
Specifically with Thomas, he is the cousin of Michigan target Jaylen Kelly-Powell out of Cass Tech and he’s also very familiar with five-star wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones. Even though Thomas plays for the main rival of Cass Tech there is a familiarity and brotherhood between a lot of the players from Detroit as they’ve known each other and played with each other since they were young. Getting Thomas in the fold would be a positive in both Kelly-Powell and Peoples-Jones's recruitment. The type of momentum this could create in Detroit for the 2017 class and beyond cannot be overstated.
Speaking of Peoples-Jones, we recently discussed an experience he had at the U-M hospital and the type of impact it may have on his recruitment.
Both of Peoples-Jones’ parents are in the medical field and have made the importance of an education very clear to their talented son. The message has definitely gotten through. Peoples-Jones is a 4.0 student at Cass Tech and may end up being class valedictorian by the time his prep career is finished.
After being 'blown away' by what he saw at the hospital while sitting in on a surgery, Peoples-Jones feels like he’s gotten the red-carpet treatment at U-M and really believes he could thrive in that environment.
We are feeling more and more confident about how he feels about Michigan and would be pretty surprised if he leaves the state for college.
Solid collaboration of information here from myself, Chris Balas, and Brandon Justice.
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