8A — Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan football freshmen experiencing benefits of early enrollment

There’s a phrase ringing 
around 
Schembechler 
Hall: 
Michigan’s 
early 
enrollees 
“should be at high school prom.” 
Cornerbacks 
coach 
Mike 
Zordich 
described 
them as “raw” 
and 
“green.” 
Certainly, 
they’re 
not 
ready for college 
football, not yet.
This is what 
spring 
ball 
is 
for those who 
graduate high school a semester 
early to come to Ann Arbor.
There 
are 
exceptions, 
of 
course. 
Mike 
Sainristil, 
a 
three-star 
athlete-turned-
receiver in the 2019 class, 
has stolen the headlines and 
threatened junior cornerback 
Ambry Thomas’ mantle as the 
fastest player on the team. But 
Sainristil stands out as the 
exception, the extreme version 
of 
more 
moderate 
success 
stories like defensive lineman 
Mazi Smith and tight end Erick 
All.
For most, the adjustment 
isn’t so glamorous. The beauty 
of spring ball is that it doesn’t 
have to be.
Take four-star cornerback 
Jalen Perry, one of the eight 
early 
enrollees 
not 
in 
the 
spotlight. Despite his four-star 
billing, Perry isn’t expected to 
play much this season. When 
you ask Zordich about him, his 
response says as much without 
saying as much.
“Jalen?” 
Zordich 
asked, 
outwardly 
surprised 
that 
Tuesday’s press conference had 
made it that far down the depth 
chart. “(He’s) young. And I keep 
telling myself, hitting myself on 
the head cause I don’t want — 

he should be at the prom and 
he’s here with us now. And he’s 
gifted, he’s got the skillset, but 
he’s still in high school. And he’s 
got a little ways to go catching 
up, understanding the speed of 
the game, the technique that we 
use.”
Zordich, 
though, doesn’t 
mind the slow 
learning 
curve 
— 
the 
focus 
of 
spring 
ball 
for 
incoming 
freshmen 
is 
rarely 
on 
the 
upcoming fall.
“He’s getting 
all this under his 
belt now so he’ll walk in in the 
fall,” Zordich said. “He won’t 

have to go to the bridge process 
school and hopefully with his 
mind — he’s a very bright kid — 
he’ll retain all this and just be 
able to retain all this and just 
have that under his belt and feel 
a little more comfortable than 
he did walking 
in 
here 
raw, 
green as hell.”
Slow 
learning curves 
and 
“feeling 
a 
little 
more 
comfortable” 
are the point 
of 
spring 
practices. 
Even Sainristil 
figures to be 
behind 
Donovan 
Peoples-
Jones, Nico Collins and Tarik 

Black, and possibly Ronnie Bell 
and Oliver Martin, on the depth 
chart. All will likely slot in 
behind Sean McKeon and Nick 
Eubanks.
But spring ball is about the 
future. It’s about the next 
generation 
of 
Donovan 
Jeters 
— 
the 
redshirt 
sophomore 
who 
arrived 
at 
Michigan 
in 
January 2017 and 
played sparingly 
during his first 
two 
years. 
His 
first 
spring 
accelerated 
him 
to 
becoming 
a 
key member of the Wolverines’ 
defensive line next fall.

There’s 
a 
reason 
Jeter 
glows with excitement when 
talking about this year’s class, 
especially Smith.
“I tell (Smith) all the time, 
I was you, I was in your exact 
same 
position,” 
Jeter 
said. 
“So with him, 
it’s just gonna 
become 
how 
fast he can pick 
up the speed of 
the game cause 
(Smith), 
dude’s 
like a monster.”
Vincent 
Gray is among 
those 
on 
the 
opposite 
side. 
The sophomore 
cornerback 
committed 
to 
Michigan late in the 2017 

recruiting 
cycle 
and 
didn’t 
have the chance to enroll early. 
Instead, he spent his freshman 
year learning the playbook and 
played in just two games.
A year later, Gray — now 
expected to be among the 
Wolverines’ 
top 
trio 
of 
defensive backs 
— has become 
a 
mentor 
for 
Perry, 
guiding 
him through the 
spring he never 
had.
“With 
Jalen 
Perry, 
yeah, 
we’ve 
been 
working 
on 
the playbook a lot,” Gray said. 
“He’s really got it down, more 
advanced than I thought he 
would at this point is what I’d 
say, so he’s been making big 
strides. … That’s like the biggest 
part of what we do, being able to 
gain the trust from the coaches 
that you know what you’re 
doing when you get out there.”
The sacrifices of enrolling 
early aren’t small. Those little 
tidbits intermingled in football 
talk — the high school prom 
mentioned 
in 
passing, 
the 
allure of graduating with your 
classmates — matter to athletes. 
Parents want their kids at home 
for one last semester.
“Being 
a 
father 
of 
two 
Division I players,” Zordich 
said, “a father and mother don’t 
want them to go. But as a coach, 
it’s a beautiful thing.”
It’s 
a 
conversation 
that 
Michigan’s coaching staff has 
with any player considering 
enrolling early. And despite the 
benefits of getting to campus 
six months before everyone 
else, it’s a conversation that 
usually ends in fall enrollment.
But when it doesn’t, the 
Wolverines reap the benefits. 
Even if they take a while to 
come to fruition.

THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer

Thomas maturing into leader

Ambry Thomas didn’t mince 
words.
When asked about his speed 
last 
Thursday, 
the 
junior 
defensive back had a simple 
response: “I’m the fastest guy 
on the team. Not many guys 
faster than me in the NCAA. Just 
keeping it real.”
A reporter asked a follow-
up 
about 
Thomas’ 
40-yard 
dash. He then launched into an 
explanation about how his time 
was “pretty fast,” but his real 
pride lies in his in-game, not 
straight-line, speed.
“People can run fast,” Thomas 
said. “But can you play fast? I 
play fast.”
Ironically, Thomas’ ability to 
play fast once held him back from 
becoming a main contributor 
on the Michigan football team. 
Defensive 
coordinator 
Don 
Brown’s 
press 
man 
scheme 
requires technique and patience 
from its defensive backs. Those 
are two things that can become 
lost if you rely solely on your 
speed — as was the case for 
Thomas.
Last 
year 
against 
Ohio 
State, the game slipped away 
as the secondary struggled to 
keep up with the Buckeyes’ 
speedy 
receivers. 
Thomas, 
unquestionably a quicker corner, 
still didn’t come into the game — 
a testament to the flaws he still 
needed to iron out.
But 
now, 
teammates 
and 
coaches say Thomas has stepped 
up his game and come on as a 
player who could be a major 
contributor on a secondary that 
has a lost several key contributors 
— including cornerbacks David 
Long and Brandon Watson.
“The sky is the limit for that 
guy,” said cornerbacks coach 
Michael Zordich on Tuesday. 
“He’s really had a great spring. 
… His technique and his patience 
with the line of scrimmage and 
the fact that he knows that he 
has the opportunity to start. He’s 
really embraced that role and he 
is becoming a leader.”
Thomas knew at the end of last 
season that his role was going to 

increase no matter what — even 
if Long or senior defensive back 
Lavert Hill both stayed. In that, 
Thomas wanted to take the new 
guys under his wing, just as the 
veterans had done for him when 
he was a freshman.
It’s a role Thomas has wanted 
to have from the beginning, but 
now 
it’s 
also 
one he finally 
has the on-field 
clout — and the 
maturity — to 
truly assume.
“I’ve matured 
a 
lot 
on 
the 
field,” 
Thomas 
said. “I usually, 
everybody 
knows I bring 
that 
energy 
to the field but … I really just 
wanna focus in on myself and 
the young players, trying to bring 
them along, because we want 
everybody to be a part of the 
team this season.”
Compared to a senior like Hill, 
the smaller age gap between 
Thomas and the freshmen allows 
him to connect with them. 
Redshirt 
freshman 
defensive 
back Vincent Gray, preparing 
for his first year as an on-field 
contributor, 
credits 
Thomas 
with showing him the ropes and 

helping him learn the playbook.
According 
to 
Zordich, 
it 
was the end of last season 
when Thomas really started 
to improve. He knew there 
would be a spot for him and he 
was hungry. So Thomas seized 
the opportunity and began to 
understand his body and his 
limitations 
— 
an 
important 
development 
for a player who 
will so brazenly 
proclaim 
his 
quickness.
Thomas 
can, 
in 
turn, 
help 
younger players 
make the same 
leap he did. Lots 
of guys come in 
with the same kind of confidence 
Thomas has, without knowing 
the boundaries of their abilities. 
Now that Thomas understands 
that, it will not only help him, but 
the rest of the secondary as well.
“Everybody was talking about 
this mind change and slow your 
mind down,” Thomas said. “I 
really see it now, and that’s one 
thing I’ve noticed, if anything. 
I believe my playmaking ability 
has always been there but it’s just 
the mind, the whole mindset that 
changed a lot.”

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior cornerback Ambry Thomas appears primed to step into a starting role.

People can run 
fast. But can 
you play fast? I 
play fast.

Seniors appreciated in Sunday win

In their last home matches 
at the Varsity Tennis Center on 
Sunday, seniors Gabe Tishman 
and Myles Schalet made sure 
to leave their mark for the 
Wolverines.
The Michigan men’s tennis 
team (15-6 overall, 6-3 Big 
Ten) defeated Wisconsin (9-9, 
3-5), 5-2, with both Tishman 
and Schalet winning their 
respective 
matches. 
The 
seniors also both won their 
doubles matches, in which 
Tishman 
paired 
up 
with 
sophomore Harrison Brown 
and Schalet with freshman 
Andrew Fenty.
After 
the 
doubles 
matches, 
Tishman 
and 
Schalet 
participated 
in 
a 
short 
ceremony 
celebrating 
their four years playing for 
Michigan. Their career stats 
were announced and their 
parents walked with them 
across the court.
“It’s been an unreal four 
years,” Schalet said. “It flew 
by so quickly. The school has 
given me so many different 
experiences, and it has been 

the best four years of my life 
for sure. I have no regrets.”
After the ceremony, the 
match transitioned to singles 
play. Tishman played at sixth 
singles and Schalet at third. 
Schalet cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 
victory. On match point, after 
a crosscourt rally, he hit a 
down-the-
line 
forehand 
winner 
that 
just 
barely 
clipped the net. 
Immediately, 
Michigan 
coach 
Adam 
Steinberg came 
out and hugged 
his senior after 
he earned his 
final 
regular 
season singles win, 63rd for 
his career.
“The coaches have taken my 
teammates and I great places 
on and off the court, and I’m 
gonna miss these guys more 
than anything,” Schalet said. 
“We’re not done, since we have 
a lot of work to do. But this 
program has meant everything 
to me.”
The 
environment 
established 
by 
Steinberg 

and the rest of the program 
contributes to how the entire 
team plays and even how they 
act off the court.
“The way we play, we play 
together as a team so much. 
We’re 
not 
selfish 
on 
the 
court and we’re not selfish 
on the court,” Schalet said. 
“(Steinberg) has 
implemented 
that 
mindset 
to be a better 
person 
and 
I’ve 
built 
so 
many 
great 
relationships 
that 
I’ll 
remember 
for 
the rest of my 
life.”
Other 
victories at singles included 
a 6-1, 6-1 victory from junior 
Connor Johnston and Fenty, 
who won 7-5, 7-6 (5).Tishman 
won his singles match as 
well, defeating his opponent, 
6-1, 7-5. His win gave the 
Wolverines their fourth point 
for the match and sealed the 
victory for Michigan, showing 
Tishman’s ability to lead by 
example as captain of the 
team, along with Schalet.
“This year we knew 
we 
would 
have 
our 
hands full from the 
beginning, because we 
graduated four seniors 
and got four freshman 
in and the majority of 
our team is made up 
of 
underclassmen,” 
Tishman said. “I think 
taking on the role of 
captain with Myles has 
taught me a lot. It’s 
taught me to take the 
high 
road 
sometimes 
and when to get on some 
people. But it’s all out 
of love, and everybody 
understands 
that. 
They’ve been a great 
team to lead.”
And 
come 
next 
season, Michigan will 
have to find two other 
players to replace the 
leadership of Schalet 
and Tishman.

JAMES HILL
Daily Sports Writer

The coaches 
have taken my 
teammates and 
I great places...

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Freshman cornerback Jalen Perry has shown cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich signs of potential, an opportunity afforded to him by enrolling early at Michigan.

I tell (Smith)...‘I 
was you, I was 
in your exact 
same position.

...he should be 
at the prom and 
he’s here with 
us now.

Wide receiver Mike Sainristil and cornerback Jalen Perry are among those who have shown promising early signs

He won’t have 
to go to the 
bridge process 
school...

