The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, September 17, 2019 — 7

Ambry Thomas details recovery 
process before season-opener

Fans 
have 
known 
about 
Ambry 
Thomas’s 
offseason 
plight. They saw his triumphant 
return, featuring an interception 
in the season-opener against 
Middle Tennessee State. They 
even briefly heard from Thomas 
himself about what it meant to 
see the field once again after 
recovering from illness.
But on Monday afternoon, 
Thomas revealed even more 
about the depths he found 
himself in over this summer, the 
massive hurdles he was forced 
to overcome on the road to 
recovery from colitis — a chronic 
inflammatory disorder in the 
colon — and the real threat it 
posed to his junior season.
“If you know me, you know 
I’m a fighter,” Thomas said. “If 
nothing’s not seriously bad, I’m 
not gonna let health stop me 
from doing what I love.”
It all started in mid-June, 
when Thomas felt something 
was off. He explained how 
he felt to his doctor and then 
went to the emergency room. 
It was there he learned of the 
colitis diagnosis, and slowly, 
the ramifications came trickling 
through his head. 
His focus in that moment 
squared entirely on potentially 
jeopardizing his junior season. 
“(The doctors) told me what 
was going on in my stomach,” 
Thomas said. “They told me my 
chances for playing this season 
were slim to none. All the doctors 
said that. I was the only one on 
my own side, like, ‘I’m playing 
this season no matter what.’
Thomas knew this year was 
always set to be a pivotal one 
in his progression. With the 
departure of David Long to the 
NFL Draft, Thomas was next 
in line to assume the starting 
cornerback 
position 
opposite 
senior Lavert Hill.

That’s 
why, 
sitting 
in 
a 
hospital bed in June, Thomas 
began to feel despair. He spent 
three weeks laying in bed, 
unable to do anything else. He 
lost 35 pounds. This was not how 
the most important summer of 
his life was supposed to go.
“The first three weeks I was 
literally just depressed, laying in 
bed,” Thomas said. “Then that 
last week, when I started seeing 
improvement, my mom started 
making me get up, get active. 
There are some staircases right 
by the hospital outside, so I hit 
them. I walked them, I couldn’t 
run them.
“I was very weak; my legs 
were cramping. I couldn’t get 
halfway up the steps. Like, it was 
bad.”
Steadily, he began to regain 
his strength and gain back the 
weight; 
the 
self-confidence 
followed suit. While the doctors 
remained 
steadfast 
in 
their 
recommendation of a redshirt, 
Thomas had his eyes on the start 
of the year.
At times he wasn’t in the 
building with the team, he was 
working out with his dad at 
Planet Fitness. Coaches and 
teammates remained dubious 
about his playing status, but 
Thomas was determined.
Sure enough, when Michigan 

kicked 
off 
against 
Middle 
Tennessee State on Aug. 30, 
there he was, lining up with 
the 
starting 
defense. 
His 
interception tied a bow on a 
night that, just weeks prior, 
seemed incomprehensible. 
“Everybody’s just thrilled for 
Ambry. I thought that was just 
a wonderful thing,” Michigan 
coach Jim Harbaugh said on the 
following Monday. “He spent a 
lot of time in the hospital this 
summer, but to go out and get 
the interception, get the fumble 
recovery, make the tackles and 
the TFL, all the things he did in 
the game was really inspiring for 
the ball club.”
His presence has steadied 
a 
secondary 
that 
otherwise 
would’ve been in flux. Heading 
into a season-shaping clash 
against 
Wisconsin, 
concerns 
among that group are few and 
far between.
More importantly for Ambry 
Thomas, 
though, 
he’s 
back 
to doing what he loves at the 
level he expects. Gone are the 
days of hospital beds and slow 
walks. Full-speed practices and 
positional meetings are where 
he thrives.
Asked how he feels now, 
Thomas looks up and flashes a 
smile.
“I’m feeling great.”

MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor

NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Junior cornerback Ambry Thomas was diagnosed with Colitis in June.

‘M’ prepares for test at Wisconsin

It’s that time of year where 
people start to break out the 
stats. You know, like these ones:
Michigan 
hasn’t 
won 
as 
the underdog since 2013. And, 
Michigan hasn’t won in Madison 
since 2001.
So of course, those stats were 
a hot topic of conversation at 
Monday’s 
media 
availability 
going into Saturday’s matchup 
with Wisconsin. Michigan did 
its best to tune them out.
“Do you feel like an underdog 
going into this game?” a reporter 
asked 
Michigan 
coach 
Jim 
Harbaugh.
His response: “It’s irrelevant.”
It doesn’t help the Wolverines 
that the Badgers are ranked No. 
1 in the country in both total 
defense and scoring defense. 
They 
beat 
their 
first 
two 
opponents, Central Michigan 
and South Florida, by a combined 
score of 110-0. They have a sour 
taste in their mouth from a loss 
in last year’s matchup. And, 
like Michigan, they’re well-
rested and coming off a bye. 
Beating them will be no easy 
task, especially for a team that’s 
had its fair share of offensive 
struggles so far.
But perhaps the Wolverines 
have a built-in advantage in 
preparing for that. If you look 
at SP+, a comprehensive team 
evaluation 
stat, 
it’s 
actually 
Michigan’s 
defense 
holding 
the top spot. As senior guard 
Ben Bredeson put it, “it’s tough, 
and it’s tough going against 
our defense, too.” And the 
Wolverines have the advantage 
of knowing they’ll be the biggest 
challenge yet for the Badgers’ 
inexperienced quarterback Jack 
Coan.
The Wolverines know they 
have a history of starting slow 
on the road — it doomed them 
last year in a loss to Notre Dame 
and almost did the same at 
Northwestern. So the coaching 

staff targeted it specifically in 
practice.
It’s 
impossible 
to 
fully 
simulate the environment at 
Camp Randall Stadium, but 
the 
Wolverines 
have 
gotten 
as close as they can, piping in 
crowd noise so that it’s harder 
to 
communicate, 
harder 
to 
hear playcalls. Michigan has 
an experienced offensive line, 
many of whom have played at 
Camp Randall before. Senior 
quarterback 
Shea 
Patterson 
faced some of the toughest road 
environments in the country in 
Alabama and Auburn during his 
days at Ole Miss.
“They got a very energetic fan 
base there,” said Bredeson. “ … 
There’s definitely a lot of red out 
there in the stands and it’s gonna 
be, everyone’s very passionate 
about their team in Madison.
“I always found those games 
fun, where you get to go to the 
venues that are so passionate 
for their own teams, and even 
if it’s loud against you, it’s just 

the energy, everybody can kind 
of feed off it, but it does provide 
some challenges.”
Wisconsin has some new 
personnel on the defensive side, 
but the scheme is very similar 
to last year’s — when Michigan 
blasted the Badgers to the tune of 
a 38-13 win. The Wolverines have 
already watched the Wisconsin’s 
film from both this year and last 
and put together a game plan.
Michigan’s 
the 
underdog, 
and has struggled to win in 
that situation. That much is 
undeniable. But the Wolverines 
aren’t viewing the game through 
that lens.
“They put on their pads just 
like us,” said senior tight end 
Nick Eubanks. “We know they’re 
a tough team and we know 
they’re gonna put up a fight 
especially with us, especially 
what 
happened 
last 
year, 
they’re gonna put up a fight. 
So we’re going down swinging 
too, so we’ll see how it turns 
out.”

Following decision to return, Lockwood prepares for senior season

Mel Pearson sat across the 
table from Will Lockwood, 
waiting for the words that 
would define expectations for 
the Michigan hockey team’s 
upcoming season. 
Pearson’s nerves crept in 
with every word Lockwood 
said, but they had already been 
there the moment the senior 
forward called to arrange the 
meeting. 
Pearson 
knew 
what 
was 
coming. He had done this before 
when former defenseman Quinn 
Hughes called him last year to 
talk about his decision to return 
for his sophomore season. Back 
then, Pearson’s hopes had come 
true with Hughes returning. 
Lockwood seemed to suggest 
a different outcome.
“I’ve been in many, many of 
these meetings about players, 
talking about whether coming 
back or leaving early,” said 
Michigan coach Mel Pearson. 
“And I just felt he was leaving.”
Lockwood’s tone and delivery 
was as solemn as could be. 
“Coach, 
I’ve 
come 
to 
a 
decision. I’ve made a decision.” 
Pearson 
recalled 
Lockwood 
saying. “... I’ve decided I want 
to come back and finish. Finish 
something that I started that I 
haven’t done yet.”
The decision to return for 
his senior season didn’t come 
easily; it never seems to. But 
with Lockwood especially, a 
lot of things came into play. 
The Wolverines came into last 
season with high expectations, 
coming off a Frozen Four run 
that he missed with a shoulder 
injury, and looked to continue 
that success. But, a 13-16-7 
record brought them back to 
reality and a loss to Minnesota 
in the Big Ten Tournament 
ended any hope of extending 
the season.
“When the season ended, I 
didn’t even really start thinking 
about it for maybe a week,” 
Lockwood said. “Just because 
we didn’t really finish the way 
we wanted to, and it was kind of 

a disappointing finish the year.”
The process took several 
weeks. Not wanting to make 
a 
choice 
he 
might 
regret, 
Lockwood took 
his 
time 
and 
evaluated 
all 
factors. 
The 
2018-19 season’s 
disappointing 
result 
was 
one, 
but 
his 
readiness for the 
next level and 
his 
education 
got taken into 
account.
“He 
made 
an 
educated 
decision,” Pearson said, “got all 
the information on the facts.”
His decision came over the 

course of two to three weeks in 
March. There was no urgency 
with the Vancouver Canucks — 
the NHL team that drafted him 
in 2016. 
Though 
Pearson 
and 
the 
Michigan 
coaching 
staff 
took 
a 
hands-
off 
approach, 
he 
approached 
them 
several 
times 
with 
questions 
and 
concerns. 
He 
went 
around 
asking friends, family — anyone, 
really, who he had a hockey 
connection with growing up — 
on what he should do. 

“I kept having my mom tell 
me to get my degree,” Lockwood 
joked. “But, other than that, I 
took my dad’s advice, he’s been 
a role model for 
me 
my 
whole 
life. And he was 
the one who just 
told me to kind 
of 
stick 
with 
what feels right 
and what feels 
comfortable.” 
And 
then 
a 
random morning 
in 
the 
spring, 
Lockwood woke 
up and just knew. 
He raced to tell his dad, and 
then, immediately after, called 
Pearson.

“(Lockwood) wanted to come 
back for a reason,” Pearson 
said. “With a purpose in mind, 
not just to come back. But come 
back 
with 
a 
purpose of No. 1, 
making sure he’s 
more ready than 
he was last year 
to go pro. And 
then 
obviously 
to 
finish 
his 
degree. 
And 
then No. 3 is to 
help us to get 
back to where 
we need to go.”
An injury sidelined Lockwood 
much of his sophomore season 
— that year, the Wolverines 
pulled together a Frozen Four 

run. Instead of celebrating with 
the team on the ice after a 6-3 
win over Boston University that 
propelled them to the semi-
finals, Lockwood watched from 
behind the glass — secluded 
and unable to claim the team’s 
success as his own.
“He’s kind of battled with 
some 
injuries 
and 
missed 
some games and missed a good 
portion 
of 
our 
sophomore 
season,” said senior forward 
Jake Slaker. “I think that hurt 
him a little bit, especially 
because we made such a good 
run.”
“I wasn’t really too satisfied 
with that,” Lockwood said. 
“And I wanted to be a leader 
on the team and come back and 
have a little more success senior 
year.
His impact as a player was 
never in question. Recipient 
of the Hal Downes Trophy 
and Dekers Club Award, team 
awards 
for 
most 
valuable 
player and top freshman, he 
had earned his stripes as one 
of the team’s best his freshman 
year. He scored 20 points in his 
rookie year campaign and had 
tallied 11 points in 16 games as 
a sophomore before concluding 
his season with an injury.
“I know if he was out there 
with us,” Slaker said. “maybe 
we would have the National 
Championship.” 
And after Michigan veered 
off its projected course with 
a sub-.500 season in 2018-
19, Lockwood felt the need to 
come back, to help rectify the 
disaster of a season. And as the 
Wolverines’ 100th captain and 
a leading force on the team, he 
hopes to do “big things with 
this team.”
It’s a title he’s earned and 
an expectation he’s sought. 
Instead of Canucks training 
camp, fighting for a roster spot, 
Lockwood 
spent 
this 
week 
opening Michigan’s practice 
donning the Captain’s ‘C’ for 
the first time.
“At the end of the day,” 
Lockwood said, “it kind of came 
down to what my heart was 
telling me.”

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Michigan guard Ben Bredeson lived in Wisconsin before attending Michigan.

TIEN LE
Daily Sports Editor

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior forward Will Lockwood returns to school for his senior season after contemplating a move to turn professional, a move that pleased coach Mel Pearson.

I kept having 
my mom tell 
me to get my 
degree.

(Lockwood) 
wanted to 
come back for a 
reason.

