Just nine days after the Big Ten announced the postponement of the 2020 fall football season, Michigan Wolverines football senior cornerback Ambry Thomas declared his intentions to depart for the 2021 NFL Draft, joining redshirt junior offensive lineman Jalen Mayfield in leaving early following the conference's decision. Senior wide receiver Nico Collins, the most recent Wolverine to opt out of the campaign, did so this week.
Now that the Big Ten has reversed course and will play a fall season starting in October, several players across the league, such as Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth, have opted back in. Others, like Thomas and Mayfield, who have signed with agents, could potentially be cleared by the NCAA to be once again eligible for competition this upcoming season.
Thomas, on Sirius XM's Big Ten Today with Jon Jansen and Anthony Herron, divulged that he, too, is exploring the possibility of making a return to college football now that circumstances surrounding the season have changed, even though he has signed with Rosenhaus Sports, one of the top agencies in the country.
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"I'm hearing certain things, I can come back. I'm hearing other things that I can't," Thomas said. "A whole bunch of uncertainty still from my end, and those answers would clear everything up for me."
Thomas has been in contact with the Michigan coaching staff since the Big Ten's decision to reinstate the season Thursday morning.
"I talked to a couple of my coaches earlier," Thomas said, noting he hasn't yet spoken with head coach Jim Harbaugh. "They said they'd get at me later; they want to talk, see what I'm thinking.
"Basically, the conversations we're kinda having ... I'm gonna express some of my concerns still, see how that would even go about knowing I've already signed with an agent."
Before he declared to the NFL, Thomas was projected to start at corner opposite of redshirt sophomore Vincent Gray. He was a candidate to become a team captain in his final season in Ann Arbor, as well, and pointed out today that he would bring a lot back for the Wolverines if he were to return.
"The people who I've been around, my teammates, know that I just want to show everybody that I'm a leader," Thomas said. "I bring that energy to feed off of. I give that to the younger players, the older players, it don't matter. I bring that to the table.
"And if there is a season, and if I do consider to come back, Michigan football, I'm pretty sure we're gonna be ready."
Thomas was a third-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2019. On the season, he notched 38 tackles, 3.0 for loss, seven pass breakups with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries during his junior season. He was named Michigan's team's Defensive Skill Player of the Year and was tabbed to Pro Football Focus College's All-Big Ten Team on defense (second team, cornerback) and their midseason All-American team.
Heading into the 2020 campaign, Thomas was named to the Jim Thorpe Award Watch List, given to the nation's top defensive back and the Bednarik Award Watch List, handed out annually to the top defensive player in America.
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