The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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114 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW DEFENSIVE BACKS year and saw action at safety in two. He regis- tered eight tackles, an assisted tackle for loss and one pass broken up in limited action, and could provide help in the secondary if needed, but will start off at viper linebacker. "That depends on how the year goes," Smith said. "You never know how the year is going to go in terms of injuries. He has the ability to go back in there and play. He may be a little better closer to the ball. "He's a physical player, aggressive … a great blitzer. He's just got a nose for the ball. He's had a very good spring." Another option, freshman early enrollee Jaylen Kelly-Powell (6-0, 175), is playing both the safety and nickel positions. He notched three tackles, one for loss, in the spring game and continues to move around the secondary in search of the right position. "He's got great footwork … his footwork is outstanding," Evans said. "I watch him ev- ery day. He doesn't really say much or smile much; he's all about his work. I like that." Brown added they'd "fooled around with him at nickel back and strong safety," noting he handled himself well in the spring game. "He's done a nice job," Smith said. "He comes in from a good high school program. He's been well coached. He's really techni- cally sound for a young defensive back. "His man-to-man skills are definitely there, they flash." Hill and freshman early enrollee cornerback Ambry Thomas are vying for time at nickel with Kelly-Powell, and that's a work in prog- ress. It's not an easy spot to play from a tech- nique standpoint — "that's what it's all about when you play man," Zordich noted — and it requires patience for young players to master, but they're all learning and improving. Hill will try to follow in the footsteps of graduated corner Jourdan Lewis, another De- troit prep product, and he's got great cover skills, but he still has a ways to go to match Lewis in run support. The 5-11, 168-pound sophomore has appeared in 11 games, playing cornerback in nine, and notched two solo tack- les, a fumble recovery and one pass broken up in limited action. He missed the spring game, however, with minor injuries. Exit Jourdan Lewis … enter Ambry Thomas. From one Detroiter to the next, Michigan ap- pears to have cornered the market on elite play- makers from the Motor City, one having already proven himself and the other just getting started. Lewis, the Big Ten's Defensive Back of the Year, went to Dallas in the third round of the NFL Draft after an outstanding career. Detroit King's Thomas has many of the same attributes, Rivals.com Mid- west recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt said. "There have been a lot of comparisons made to Jourdan Lewis," he said. "Both of them are Detroit guys, both are a little undersized at the corner position, but they have different skill sets. What separates Ambry is he has a playmaker mentality. "It's tough to compare, but from a pure play- maker's mentality … Charles Woodson was a play- maker. You knew he was going to come up with the big plays. He's not Woodson, but that's what Ambry brings to a defense. You expect him to do that." Thomas and Lewis have similar builds, though Thomas is an inch or two taller. Both had nar- row frames, and while Lewis was probably fur- ther along from a fundamentals and technique standpoint, Thomas has just as much potential, Helmholdt added. "Even up until shortly before his senior year, some were thinking Ambry might be a wide re- ceiver in college," he said. "I don't think he was really able to put as much focus into the corner- back position as Jourdan did, so I think Jourdan's progression was further ahead [entering college]. "But nothing about his game says Ambry can't be a lockdown corner. He has all the physical tools; he's just not as refined. He probably came in a little behind for the position, but they are coach- able things, not anything he lacks that can't be coached." Many thought Michigan State had a leg up early in his recruitment, and it appeared the Spar- tans at least held a slight advantage for the 6-0, 170-pounder. His Detroit King teammate, wide receiver Donnie Corley, was a freshman for the Spartans last year and pushing hard for his friend to join him. Instead, Thomas becomes the latest Detroit de- fensive back product to put on the winged helmet, and he should have an early impact at nickel back and as a backup corner. "He is physically gifted enough to play early," Helmholdt said. "Do want to put him out on island as a true freshman? Probably not. He's not disci- plined or refined enough. "But as a guy who can help on defense, make some plays, maybe even in the return game … he's done plenty of that in high school, and he can definitely be an asset as a true freshman if they put him in the right roles that maximize things he's great at." — Chris Balas Ambry Thomas Could Be Michigan's Next Elite Detroit Corner Thomas compiled 44 tackles, 14 passes broken up and three interceptions as a se- nior at Detroit Martin Luther King. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Sophomore safety Josh Metellus flashed his potential in U-M's Orange Bowl matchup with Florida State, recording six tackles while starting in place of an injured Jabrill Peppers. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN