Thomas Had Fingerprints on Michigan's Top Defensive Plays Against Iowa

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Take a close look at the four turnovers the Wolverines got against Iowa and the biggest play that kept the Hawkeyes out of the end zone, and Ambry Thomas' fingerprints are on four of those five pivotal plays.

Here they are in chronological order from Saturday's (Oct. 5) game:

Thomas was in the middle of Metellus' first-quarter interception

First quarter (13:41 remaining): Defensive tackle Aidan Hutchinson forced a fumble while taking down Iowa tailback Mekhi Sargent and Thomas jumped on the ball at the Iowa 21-yard line, setting up a 28-yard field goal by Jake Moody.

It was Thomas' fifth career fumble recovery, tying him for seventh on the University of Michigan's all-time list.

He joins quite a group with five recoveries. The names of the others there will put smiles on the faces of Wolverine fans: Glen Steele, Mark Messner, J.J. Grant, Don Dufek, Leon Hall and LaMarr Woodley. The record is seven fumble recoveries held by All-American front seven players Ron Simpkins and Mike Hammerstein along with outside linebacker Dominic Tedesco

First quarter (00:52): Hawkeyes quarterback Nate Stanley threw a fade pass to the right for Brandon Smith, but Thomas had him covered tightly and safety Josh Metellus was coming up from behind. The ball sailed high and Metellus picked it off at the Iowa 39-yard line.

Second quarter (12:18): It was third-and-goal at the four-yard line for the Hawkeyes, and Stanley lofted a fade route to the wide side of the field intended for former Wolverine Oliver Martin. Thomas was glued to Martin, and may have used some hands in the coverage process, but the pass was long and ruled uncatchable. Iowa settled for a 22-yard Keith Duncan field goal -- its lone scoring in Michigan's 10-3 victory.

Third quarter (11:15): It was fourth-and-three at the Wolverine 36-yard line, and Thomas was covering Smith on the deep route. Freshman safety Daxton Hill had position on wide receiver Nico Ragaini on the shallow out-cut route, and Hill was able to tip the pass that popped up and behind him. Thomas was positioned in front of Smith at that point, and reached out for the ball that he cradled while going down for the Wolverines' third interception.

Thomas was smack dab in the middle of so much that went right for Michigan, which leaned on its defense to win this one. The Wolverines had eight sacks among 13 tackles for losses and recovered four turnovers against an opponent that had only one turnover in winning its four previous games.

What is it about his preparation and skill set that allowed Thomas, a junior from Detroit King, to excel in such fashion?

"He's a great athlete," began Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. "He's a great player and he's smart. He's a Michigan guy all the way. He wants to make himself great and he wants to make Michigan great. He's a great guy and he's high drive."

Thomas has what coaches call "a high motor," meaning he plays in the highest gear for optimum speed.

"I'm just a competitor," said Thomas. "I line up in front of a guy and I think I'm better than him automatically. I know my preparation and the game plan is going to get me ready."

Ambry Thomas

He believes in what Wolverines defensive coordinator Don Brown draws up and secondary coach Michael Zordich instructs him and the other cornerbacks to do. That trust allows him to play without hesitation, providing that split-second difference between making a difference and falling just a bit short of doing so.

Thomas made his first career start in the season opener against Middle Tennessee State, and also had the same interception, fumble recovery and two tackles statistical line in that game.

The program record is seven fumble recoveries held by All-America linebacker Simpkins (1976-79) and All-America defensive lineman Hammerstein (1981-85) -- both of whom went on to the NFL -- along with outside linebacker Dominic Tedesco (1975-77), now an acclaimed heart surgeon in Los Angeles. Simpkins will be inducted into Michigan's Hall of Honor next month.

All of those players had something in common. They had a nose for the ball and played with great intensity. There's an element of luck involved in fumble recoveries, but the best players make their own luck.

And to think Harbaugh had no idea when and if Thomas would play two weeks before the season began. He had colitis and was not able to fully practice until the week of the opener.

"This guy was in the hospital six weeks ago!" said Harbaugh, placing his left arm around Thomas before slapping him on the back.

Thomas is a ball hawk with a knack of making things happen.

Thomas intercepts a pass against Middle Tennessee State on Aug. 31

"He's a game-wrecker," said Michigan defensive tackle Michael Danna.

The Wolverines are getting great play from their entire secondary.

"The corner play really stood out," Harbaugh said. "That was about as good a corner play as you're going to see from Ambry, Lavert (Hill) and Vincent Gray."

Hill also had an interception and a pass breakup to go with four tackles (one behind the line of scrimmage). Gray had three tackles (sharing one for lost yardage) and broke up a pass.

The safeties also were pretty sharp. Metellus had that interception and six tackles, while Brad Hawkins had three solo tackles. Hill came off the bench to make six tackles (one for lost yardage) and broke up that pass Thomas intercepted.

They intercepted Stanley -- who entered the game with a streak of 136 passes without a pick off dating back to last season -- three times.

In explaining his interception, and perhaps the rest, Thomas smiled and said, "With the great pass rush we had, that ball's just going to get thrown up."

And from there, it was easy picking.

Iowa converted 5-of-9 third downs in the first half, including some long ones, but Brown made some adjustments at the half and held it to 1-for-8 on third downs after that. There was more zone pass coverage and deep help from the safeties to make a big difference.

The Hawkeyes were 29-1 in the last 30 games, all Stanley starts, and averaged 30.2 points in those games. But they could not reach the end zone against Michigan.

"If they don't score," said Thomas, "they don't win. That's our mind-set."

Iowa Kirk Ferentz, in his 21st season as the longest-tenured coach in major college football, had gone 61-1 when his team held opponents to 10 points. But the Wolverines handed Ferentz his second such loss.

Thomas did more than his part, and has stepped up big to replace David Long, a third-round pick playing with the Los Angeles Rams. The "game-wrecker" is doing his thing.