commitment posts
ambry thomas

Hello: Ambry Thomas Comment Count

Brian

ambry-thomas

MI CB Ambry Thomas, the #2 player in the state, just announced his commitment to Michigan:

Thomas is the #3 CB and #31 overall player in the country to 247; he's 5th and 58th, respectively, on Scout. The other two services have him around 200th. Sam Webb on Thomas:

"I think he is a taller, faster version of Jourdan Lewis. He is an excellent bump and run defender. He has great feet, loose hips, recovery speed, and tremendous ball skills. Lewis was better technically at the same stage of development, but Thomas is more physical."

Michigan now has commits from 5 of the top 8 players in the state and hopes to add Donovan Peoples-Jones and Deron Irving-Bey in the near future.

A full post is coming tomorrow.

Comments

boliver46

December 7th, 2016 at 9:45 PM ^

question - for a highly scoutef player - why the huge disparity in ratings? doesn't make sense...but of course whichever service has him rated the highest is obviously correct and also the best scouting site. lol

Joined: 09/14/2012

MGoPoints: -3374

AZBlue

December 7th, 2016 at 10:18 PM ^

From what I have heard/read in the past, ESPN is mainly a "fire and forget" evaluator with recruiting. Unless a kid is going to be in their UA game, once they are evaluated it is pretty much done. Ambry really started to show out at the opening but he was already pretty much slotted by them.

The recent knock on Rivals is that they only do in depth scouting (and rankings preference?) to kids who attend their branded camps.

On the bright side ESPN is also known for going back and evaluating a kid they haven't late in the process if he signs with a major school...which is why they were the only school to give Matellus (sp?) a 4 star rating last year.

Joined: 09/14/2008

MGoPoints: 16692

wesq

December 7th, 2016 at 11:39 PM ^

Fire and forget is a bad excuse. I remember reading during the recruitment of Hill and Corley most thought that Thomas was probably the best player on that team as a junior. Near unanimous #2 in the State from the beginning in one of the best years the State of Michigan has had in recent memory.

Joined: 08/21/2009

MGoPoints: 3440

Durham Blue

December 7th, 2016 at 9:33 PM ^

I think I took for granted Jourdan Lewis' ability a little bit.  I tend to forget about half the field being shut down when he is out there.  It's a great luxury to have because it leads to more QB sacks.  You can never have enough great CBs!  Hopefully Ambry Thomas is Jourdan Lewis part 2.

Joined: 10/09/2008

MGoPoints: 30000

lhglrkwg

December 7th, 2016 at 10:08 PM ^

I think the 2016 defenses' brilliance will go down as underrated. So much of an opposing teams playbook was known to be so useless that they didn't even run them to give up a chance at a TFL or a turnover or a PBU

  • Jourdan Lewis basically eliminated half the field on passing downs
  • Peppers eliminated all WR screens, pitches, and ZR to his side of the field

That's a big chunk of an opposing team's plays. They were basically relegated to chucking it at Channing, trying to run helplessly, or testing the linebackers (which was really the only thing that ever seemed to show a weakness).

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 87828

Seth

December 7th, 2016 at 10:12 PM ^

Lewis's ability is easy to take for granted, sure, but what's constantly taken for granted is Jourdan Lewis the person. He's one of those rare guys who can cut out all the bullshit (there's been plenty thrown his way) and actually put in the kind of time and effort that most NFL guys only say they do. From the people I know who know Jourdan Lewis, he's an incomprehensibly good person. He's one of those guys you just wonder how the hell can someone be so instrinsically good AND good at everything. Then you meet his girlfriend and go "Oh, well, okay, that expalins some of it."

Make no mistake, you can't be as good as Lewis without superb natural ability. But as for a next-Lewis, yeah Ambry and LeVert have that kind of ability, but Peppers, Woodson, Tom Brady: those are the guys with comparable commitment.

Nobody is going to be Jourdan Lewis. It's not even fair to compare.

Joined: 10/14/2008

MGoPoints: 149089

umchicago

December 8th, 2016 at 2:12 AM ^

but i think lewis was a better one on one defender than woodsen.  it was rare when a guy got separation from lewis.  that said, woodson was an excellent tackler for a CB.  he has the edge there. he may not have been a punisher, but he rarely screwed up and missed tackles.

i compare lewis to more of a deion sanders type.  he will be missed.  if any of these young guys come close to him, i will be ecstatic.

Joined: 02/05/2009

MGoPoints: 33625

JBombs3224

December 8th, 2016 at 1:02 PM ^

Hopefully we have a few more "Hello" posts to read early next week.  The weather may not be ideal, but if you want to play for Harbaugh, I think you're ok with a little cold weather and snow.

 

I love Thomas' versatility and competitiveness.  He seems to have the personality to compete on Day 1 and get some playing time right away.  The secondary will be really young next year but also very talented.  Between Hill, Long, Thomas, and St. Juste, I'm feeling pretty good about our CBs for the next few years.  Now if only we could get a 5* WR for them to compete against every day....(crosses fingers for Monday "hello" post on DPJ).

 

 

Joined: 09/15/2016

MGoPoints: 43