Trieu: Michigan lands ‘gifted, rare’ talent in Ambry Thomas
Four-star Detroit King cornerback Ambry Thomas ended a long recruitment by announcing a commitment to Michigan on Wednesday night.
Thomas’ pledge gives the Wolverines six commitments from inside the state as well as a prospect considered one of the best in the country.
“They’re getting a very competitive kid,” King head coach Tyrone Spencer said, “probably the most or second-most competitive kid I’ve ever had. Donnie (Corley) is probably number one, but Ambry is a very competitive football player who is always trying to get better and learn.”
As a senior, Thomas intercepted three passes, broke up 14, had 859 yards and 13 touchdowns receiving, and returned three punts for scores. He helped lead King to a second straight state title while stepping up more as a senior leader on a young team that lost several key starters, including Corley, and fellow Division 1 signees Lavert Hill, Armani Posey and Dontre Boyd.
“We really leaned on him a lot,” Spencer said. “I’m proud of how he led. As a coach, you never know who is going to step up, but a few days after I took over as coach, we were running wind sprints and he looked over at me and said, ‘Don’t take it easy on us coach, keep it tough.’ I knew right there when he said that that this guy gets it. The younger kids responded to that because a senior said it. That was powerful for our season.”
Thomas, who was ranked the No. 2 player in the state in the preseason by The Detroit News, is set to take his official visit to Michigan this weekend after taking many unofficial visits to campus over the last two years.
His cousin, Detroit Cass Tech safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell, is also committed to the Wolverines.
Detroit King's Ambry Thomas commits to Michigan
Thomas will play in January’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl and then will enroll at Michigan for the following semester and go through spring practice with the team.
He is Michigan’s 21st commitment and a significant one for the class.
“He is long, gifted and rare,” Spencer said. “He can put on a lot of weight. He is 174 pounds and didn’t look like it. As a return specialist, he is dangerous and he can play offense, so his ceiling is so high.”
Younger McCaffrey gets an offer
Luke McCaffrey, a sophomore quarterback and wide receiver at Highlands Ranch (Colo.) Valor Christian, was offered by Michigan on Monday night.
He is the younger brother of Michigan quarterback commit Dylan McCaffrey and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey.
Valor Christian just won a state title. The youngest McCaffrey camped at Michigan over the summer.
Wolverine commits reaffirm pledges
Michigan defensive back commits Benjamin St. Juste and J’Marick Woods both took visits to other schools, but the worry for the Wolverines is over as both have reaffirmed their commitments to Michigan.
St. Juste, a 6-foot-3 cornerback from Old Montreal (Canada) took an official visit to Boston College and Woods, a 6-foot-4 safety from Florence (Ala.), took an official visit to Mississippi State and entertained other programs, but both are now set to sign with the Wolverines.
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Allen Trieu began covering the state of Michigan for Scout.com in 2005 and began managing the entire Midwest in 2009. He has been featured on the Big Ten Network on its annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly at detroitnews.com.