Ambry Thomas' Return To Practice, & Its Impact On U-M's Cornerback Group

Michigan Wolverines football junior cornerback Ambry Thomas announced on Twitter on Thursday that he had finally returned to practice, after having sat out all of fall camp with colitis.

Though he's not expected to be ready by the time the season starts next Saturday, his impending return cannot be overstated.

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Michigan is incredibly thin at the position following the graduation of Brandon Watson and the early departure of David Long from last year's club, both of whom played at an incredibly high level last season.

Though he only played sparingly as a freshman in 2017 and missed 2018 with injury, redshirt sophomore Benjamin St-Juste lightened the position further when he transferred to Minnesota in May, as did redshirt freshman Myles Sims when he took off for Georgia Tech that same month.

As a result of the departures, senior Lavert Hill was left as the only corner on the roster with substantial defensive game experience.

Thomas was expected to earn the starting gig opposite Hill (assuming the senior re-earned his role) in 2019 prior to his colitis, though it was also reported that redshirt freshman Vincent Gray had been giving him a run for his money.

With Thomas unlikely to go in Saturday's season-opener, Gray is strongly expected to earn the starting spot opposite Hill.

Gray played in just two games last year as a freshman, but has seen the U-M defensive staffers and players alike consistently sing his praises since the spring.

It's fair to expect the Rochester native to be at least adequate in his first substantial game action, especially when considering position coach Mike Zordich's track record of success.

Cornerback has arguably been the strongest position on the entire team since head coach Jim Harbaugh took over in 2015, with the spot never really having struggled for any extended period of time.

Jeremy Clark, Jourdan Lewis and Channing Stribling helped form an elite unit in 2015, while the latter two continued that trend in 2016.

There were admitted public concerns with the position from Zordich heading into 2017 following the departures of Lewis and Stribling, but first-year starting sophomores Lavert Hill and David Long didn't miss a beat (and were perhaps even better than their predecessors).

A few concerns have once again resurfaced with Long and Watson off to the NFL, but Zordich has proven time and time again he's one of the best in the business at what he does.

An aspect that is fair to worry about, however, is the depth at the spot.

With Thomas out for the time being, nothing but inexperience resides behind Hill (though it should be noted that junior Jaylen Kelly-Powell has seen a handful of meaningful snaps over the last two years).

Kelly-Powell would likely be the next corner in if something were to happen to Hill or Gray in the first month of the season, but things get even murkier on the depth chart behind him.

Redshirt freshman Gemon Green doesn't seem ready to contribute quite yet, and although freshman D.J. Turner has received some buzz so far in fall camp, it's hard to imagine him seeing meaningful playing time unless there are no other options.

Harbaugh revealed that junior safety Brad Hawkins was actually the team's starting nickelback in the spring, but he is now expected to start alongside senior safety Josh Metellus.

Moving Hawkins back down to corner/nickel could potentially be an option if injuries befell the position, and there have been rumors that freshman safety Daxton Hill could be moved down as well, though there currently doesn't seem to be any concrete evidence behind that.

The Wolverines will likely be able to get through September just fine without Thomas, especially when considering the opposition — Middle Tennessee State should be outmatched athletically in the opener, Army (Sept. 7) ranked 128th nationally last year in passing yards per game, Wisconsin (Sept. 21) was 119th in passing yards per contest and will be starting either junior Jack Coan (just four career starts) or freshman Graham Mertz at quarterback, and Rutgers was 124th in the country last year in passing offense.

The passing attacks of Iowa, Penn State and Notre Dame that Michigan is slated to face in October will be a significant step up from the aforementioned September foes, meaning Thomas' return will be vital by that point.

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