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...