Kornacki: How Thomas Went the Distance for Wolverines
9/2/2018 9:22:00 AM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Ambry Thomas blazed a trail all the way down the middle of the field on Michigan's most electrifying play, but it wasn't enough in the end.
Several Wolverines noted that Thomas provided a much-needed "spark" for the them with 3:41 remaining in the first half with a gutsy 99-yard touchdown kickoff return Saturday (Sept. 1) at Notre Dame.
Thomas, a sophomore from Detroit King High, fielded the kick in the center of the field at his own one-yard line and continued running straight up the gut of the Notre Dame coverage through a thicket of blockers.
When he escaped an arm tackle about 40 yards into the run, nobody else came close to Thomas the rest of the way.
"It was a middle return," said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. "He was able to break some arm tackles and then showed some real burst when he got into the open field. He was able to finish it off, and it gave us a great spark."
Tailback Karan Higdon added, "It was a heck of a spark. I saw him catch it, and I saw him hit that seam. It was like seeing him in practice. It was a great spark for the team, and we just couldn't pick up off of it."
That scoring play cut Notre Dame's lead to 21-10 and injected life into the Michigan sideline in what had been a sluggish first half. But the Wolverines never could get on track offensively in a 24-17 loss. Though, the defense stepped up in the second half, finding ways to contain Fighting Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush.
It took too long for Michigan to put together a touchdown drive, but starter Shea Patterson and backup Dylan McCaffrey engineered an 80-yard scoring drive capped by Higdon's three-yard scoring run with 2:18 left to play. Patterson (227 passing yards on 30 attempts) battled cramps in much of the second half, and McCaffrey took several snaps on the drive while completing four of six for 22 yards.
But until then, Thomas was the only Wolverine to find the end zone.
There has only been one longer kickoff return in the history of Michigan football, and that was a 100-yarder by Seth Smith in 1994 against Wisconsin in Ann Arbor. Thomas equaled the 99-yarders of Dennis Fitzgerald in 1960 at Michigan State and Tyrone Wheatley in 1992 against Houston in Michigan Stadium.
"Once I got going, really got going, nobody was going to catch me," said Thomas. "So, our philosophy is, 'See a little, see a lot.' And that's what I did. I saw it a little bit, and once I got open, I saw a lot.
"When I broke that first arm tackle, I thought I was off to the races. On the second one, I didn't even really see him, so he didn't budge me much."
The odd thing about the dazzling run was that Berkley Edwards began escorting Thomas up the middle on the play, and Edwards was still running interference in front of Thomas over the stretch run. Edwards, a graduate student transfer, is the brother of former Wolverine All-American Braylon Edwards and son of standout Michigan running back Stanley Edwards.
Thomas' electrifying kickoff return set off an end-zone celebration with Edwards (32).
Thomas averaged 30.5 yards on 20 kickoff returns last season, and his longest covered 43 yards. His other kickoff return against Notre Dame went for 21 yards.
He was asked what he might be able to add in regard to explosive plays.
"I believe when the ball is in my hands," said Thomas, "I'm a play-maker. When I get the ball in my hands, when I'm on special teams, I've just got to do more. If on a kickoff running down like I did in the Florida game, I've just got to make plays. That's what I did today."
Thomas (6-foot, 183 pounds) also plays defensive back and packs a wallop. He caused and recovered a fumble on a kickoff in last year's season opener against the University of Florida in Arlington, Texas.
He played on state championship teams as both a junior and senior at King, and he was a two-way star playing in the prestigious U.S. Army All-American game. Thomas made 34 catches for 903 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior while also adding 14 pass breakups, three interceptions and 44 tackles. He returned an interception, punt and kickoff for scores that season.
"Ambry is a real competitor," said Michigan cornerbacks coach Michael Zordich. "He is very feisty. He is very athletic and played both ways in high school. He was an excellent receiver on offense in high school, so he is an exciting individual."
Thomas showed that Saturday night, becoming a blur to defenders reaching for him in vain. He provided some momentum for a comeback that ended up falling one touchdown short.
