Dymonte Thomas (image via Today’s U)
Name: Dymonte Thomas
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 199 lbs.
High school: Alliance (OH) Marlington
Position: Safety
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #25
Last year: I ranked Thomas #51 and said he would be a backup safety and special teamer (LINK). He started four games and made 24 tackles and 7 pass breakups.
When the season started in 2015, it appeared to be a third consecutive ho-hum season for Thomas. Brady Hoke had burned Thomas’s redshirt as a true freshman, when he didn’t seem to account for the transition costs of moving a high school linebacker to defensive back. So 2013 was mostly a wasted year, and 2014 brought playing time, but not at an effective level. Not having scratched his potential at the beginning of 2015, all eyes were on Jarrod Wilson and Jabrill Peppers at safety, along with a few sideways glances at Thomas and Delano Hill. He didn’t do anything special for the first few weeks, but the light seemed to come on midway through the year. From the Minnesota game onward, he made 20 of his 24 tackles and 4 of his 7 pass breakups. That doesn’t account for some nice plays against MSU, including an interception that was nullified by a penalty.
Thomas should have some established confidence in his game from last year, but my one concern – for the position as a whole – is the departure of excellent safeties coach Greg Jackson, who is now the defensive backs coach for the Dallas Cowboys. Michigan hired Don Brown over Jackson for defensive coordinator, and they brought in Brian Smith to coach defensive backs. Smith and incumbent cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich will split responsibility for the defensive backs, and while both have NFL experience in some form, there’s always concern when a proven coach is replaced by someone not so proven. Thomas made a very nice interception in the spring game when he covered a lot of ground to intercept Shane Morris, but it should be noted that Shane Morris-to-Jack Wangler is no Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance.
I think Thomas got over the proverbial hump last season, and now I think he’s a more valuable asset than Hill, who seemed to be the more trusted safety last year. Michigan doesn’t have another safety with Thomas’s speed, and I think the Cover 2 defense employed by Don Brown will give him an opportunity to make a few more plays: the free safety at Boston College, Brown’s last stop, was Justin Simmons, who made 5 picks last season and became a 3rd round NFL Draft pick for the Denver Broncos. Furthermore, Michigan is very thin at the position group, with true freshmen and walk-ons filling out the two- and three-deep after primary backup Tyree Kinnel. Thomas should be a very valuable part of the defense this season.
Prediction: Starting free safety; 50 tackles, 3 interceptions
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Looking forward to seeing Thomas reach his potential this year!
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Is Smith any less qualified than Jackson was when he was hired?
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Jackson is more qualified as a player, and he also had a more extensive coaching career. I think just about anyone would pick Greg Jackson over Brian Smith if they were trying to find a DB coach.
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They were both assistant position coaches in the NFL before coming to Michigan. Jackson was a Harbaugh guy. Smith is a Brown guy. I don’t really care to parse out the bullets in their resumes, but to me they are comparable candidates when hired by UM.
Jackson is essentially ahead by the 2015 season he had at Michigan, which was highly successful. A year form now Smith could be promoted and back to the NFL too, assuming M’s secondary does as well as we expect.
In the rush to argue that Harbaugh was not only a great coach but also is producing an elite coaching tree, some of hires got overstated a bit. For example, Jackson’s Mgoblog welcome called him the 49ers secondary coach (when he was actually an assistant), IIRC.
I have nothing against Jackson, I just think his impacts are getting overstated. I could certainly be wrong though – all of our CBs looked improved last year and Jeremy Clark’s development was especially impressive. I don’t know exactly how to allocate credit for that, but I don’t expect a step down this season.
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I expect a breakout senior year from Thomas and think he’ll get drafted, maybe even in the top 3 or 4 rounds.
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