Michigan Wolverines football cornerback Ambry Thomas opted out of the shortened 2020 season to focus on the pre-NFL Draft process, so he didn't go through the struggle of the 2-4 campaign the Maize and Blue endured. But it still pained him to watch his former teammates and coaches go through those challenges, loss after loss.

"Every game I watched, every game it was hurting me when something didn’t go down the way I wanted it to go down," Thomas, a 2019 third-team All-Big Ten honoree, said Wednesday. "It hurt me a lot, for real. My heart was with the guys.

"Just me, physically I wasn’t there, but I wanted to be with the guys, and I knew I would’ve been able to help them. But that’s in the past now, and I’m pretty sure they learned from that last year, they needed that awakening, and I know they’re going to perform very well this season."

Part of why Thomas has confidence that Michigan's defensive unit that ranked 84th nationally in total defense last season will turn things around in 2021 is due to the playmakers that are on board. Adding to that is what he's heard about the new system under first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald and fresh co-coordinator and cornerbacks coach Maurice Lingust. His former teammates, who are nine spring practices in, are raving about the scheme.

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"I’m excited to see what’s about to happen, because a lot of the guys love the defense," Thomas, who posted four career interceptions at Michigan, said. "They all tell me if I played in this defensive scheme I would’ve ate. I’m excited to see those guys eat, and they’re actually learning NFL-schemed defense.

"Kudos to them, I’m very happy for them. I wish I would’ve learn a little bit of that, because now that I am in this interview process, I do get hit with questions like the defense they’re running, and I don’t have that much background knowledge on it, so I’m still learning it but these guys are learning it. God willing, when they get to that next step, they’re already going to know it like the back of their hand. It’s putting them ahead of the game, honestly."

Thomas excelled in former coordinator Don Brown's defense, playing tight man-to-man coverage and tracking the ball extremely well. But he wishes he could've made even more explosive plays, and believes he would've if he were in more of a zone coverage system.

"Honestly, just make more plays on the ball, sitting in zone, cover three," he said when asked what aspects of Macdonald's defense he wishes he could've experienced. "You can really go get the ball — you can see the ball, you can get the ball. In man, it’s see man then read through him to get to the ball. But when it’s zone, your eyes are on the quarterback — you go off the QB’s intentions. I know they’re going to get a whole bunch of more picks this year, I’m excited to see it."

Thomas singled out fifth-year senior safety Brad Hawkins as a guy who is ready to take over as the leader in the back end of the Wolverines' defense. He is also excited to watch some of the cornerbacks who got significant run in 2020 to continue their progressions.

"I’m honestly excited to see the leadership role [redshirt sophomores] Gemon Green and Vincent Gray are ready to take for their group. I’m ready to see them lock down No. 1 receivers like I know they can. I just feel like it’s all a mental thing with those guys, and I’m ready to see them take that next step and lead the group.

"Other than that, I’m ready to see [redshirt freshmen] DJ [Turner] and JP [Jalen Perry], those guys, to get their turn and shine. They got a good group of cornerbacks, honestly. I wish I could coach them, but I’m excited to see what they can do."

Going back to Thomas' decision to opt out of the season, he explained that his previous battle with colitis in the summer of 2019 played a big factor, along with all of the uncertainty that surrounded college football last fall.

"Us stopping there, stopping here, it shut down, then it would start back up, I felt like, I’m on my time, I’m not on the Big Ten’s time schedule," Thomas said. "I just knew I had to keep going, moving forward. When the season got reinstated, coaches hit me up to come back, but by that time I was already deep into training and I had my mind made up."

So he went to work preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft, which is set to begin April 29. While he didn't get game reps last fall, he believes he made the best use of his time, and he's ready to show observers on Friday at Michigan's pro day.

"Just as far as my techniques and how I want to play the ball and where I want to be at, route positioning, how I wanted my body language and body position to be throughout the route," Thomas said of how he improved, noting some of those things are not attainable during the course of a normal season. "Just to dip down into those little things and find out what really works for me and what really makes me optimize everything that I have within me."

Thomas is projected as a mid-round draft pick, despite having so much fanfare surrounding him after his junior campaign. While the year away from games may have hurt his stock, he is confident that he's one of the best cornerbacks in the pool of potential draft picks, and that NFL teams agree with him.

"Coming into this season, me and two guys from Indiana were leading the Big Ten in cover snaps and how well we played man on man," Thomas said. "I was the No. 1 cornerback in the Big Ten before I decided to opt out, and I still am, I truly believe that. I’m a top-five cornerback, without a doubt.

"I’m just ready for this pro day — I’m ready to show everybody what I can do. I feel like I got a chip on my shoulder because I feel disrespected throughout this whole process. I know what I bring to the table. I missed whole offseasons at Michigan and still played how I played last year. I was on one week of practice when I got back [from battling colitis in 2019]. I know what I can do, put it like that.

Added Thomas: "I believe the teams are convinced. I don’t think I have to convince anyone. They all know my story, they all know I was in the hospital for 30 days, lost 34 pounds in the hospital and still came back to play that season and be able to play week one and make plays. They’re all amazed by that.

"That’s why I’m not worried about how this process will play out, whether I go first round to undrafted — I know when I get my chance, I’m going to shine. And I believe the NFL coaches know that as well."

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