Michigan Football Recruiting: Dymonte Thomas — 2013 GBMWolverine Recruiting Class Capsule
By SkwdCop
Posted at 12:00pm — 2/7/2013
Michigan Football Recruiting: Dymonte Thomas — 2013 GBMWolverine Recruiting Class Capsule
Dymonte Thomas was the second commitment in the Wolverines 2013 recruiting class. Get up to date on his recruitment and learn more about two-way athlete.
GBMWolverine Readers: Here is a overview of University of Michigan 2013 Signed Commit Dymonte Thomas.
Height: 6’2
Weight: 192
Number: 1
Current Position: Running Back/Safety
Future Position: Safety
City/State: Alliance, Ohio
High School: Marlington
Head Coach: Ed Miley
Recruiter: Coach Greg Mattison
Official Visit: 12/14/2012
Committed: 9/11/2011
Top 5 other Offers: Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, and UCLA.
40-Time: 4.49
20 yard Shuttle: 4.47
Bench Max: 250
Squat Max: 305
Vertical: 29.5″
GPA: 2.7
Class: 2013 Michigan Wolverine Recruiting Class (Signed).
Follow Dymonte: on Twitter
Rankings: 24/7: … ESPN: … Rivals: … Scout: .
GBMWolverine Rankings:
Note: Stars do matter, but are not absolute in predicting success within a football program. So, with that in mind the GBMWolverine Staff has cleverly come up with a new system of ranking. We are using footballs instead of stars, how can one argue against a system that clever? Below are the interpretations of football power predicted way too boldly long before it matters. In other words, we will give informed opinion with the crystal ball and let the players determine what will happen through years of hard work.
Criteria: raw talent, athleticism, position of need, intangibles.
10 footballs: Instant impact player.
9 footballs: Three or four-year starter at a high level.
8 footballs: A starter with all league potential.
7 footballs: A meaningful starter at some time during a career.
6 footballs: A spot starter or special teams player.
5 footballs: Not in the two deep after a two years.
4 footballs: Never made it.
1-3 footballs: See the above.
Side Note:
Remember just as we did during the season with grading positions or groups we are very tough graders and expect a lot out of those positions or players so this is no different here.
A coup is simply what the commit must be called. Hoke and company went into the Buckeyes backyard and stole this stellar two-way athlete from almost certain pledge to Ohio. Dymonte the cousin of former Michigan recruit and Buckeye commit, Brionte Dunn had most of the scarlet and gray confident he would end up playing at Columbus, and he will – only donning the maize and blue. Thomas is an incredible two-way performer and as excellent of defender as he is his play on offense got him noticed.
As a junior Dymonte tallied 102 tackles and one interception while lining up everywhere on defense, coupled with rushing for 875 yards and 13 TDs, he followed that with an all-state senior performance where he once again rushed for 875 yards and 14 TDs. He is also an excellent student, and one of six Michigan early enrollees. He ended up with major offers from OSU, Notre Dame, MSU, and many others but his love of Michigan and friendship with Shane Morris cemented his presence in Ann Arbor.
“The atmosphere really got to me,” Thomas said in a Rivals interview, “I mean, I’d really love to play in front of 114,000 fans. What more could you want? I think that’s really what sealed it for me, the atmosphere of the whole game.”
GBMWolverine Commentary:
Thomas is a terrific athlete with the potential to challenge at the safety spot, especially with the strong safety position in flux, and being there for spring may enable his campaign to start as a frosh. Whether on offense or defense, you will see him attack the line of scrimmage. He does not have the greatest speed, but he does have a terrific burst and acceleration that allows him to take one defenders, or blow-up running backs.
Though he is a punishing run defender, he will need to brush up on pass defense technique and awareness to not get beat deep. His playing offense will have helped him understand schemes, now he must transport that to defensive play because most of his senior play was offense oriented.
Dymonte certainly passes the sight test, even as a high school junior. He is a high school running back and outside linebacker, but could also play either running back or move to safety at Michigan. Dymonte rushed for 875 yards, caught five passes, and scored 13 touchdowns during the 2011 season. On defense Dymonte recorded 102 tackles leading Marlington to the Ohio state playoffs. Dymonte has a reported 2.7 GPA.
He was invited to play in the U.S. Army All-star game along with being a ESPNU 150 player.
Strengths:
Dymonte is a super combination of speed, size, and athletic ability. He is very smooth and fluid with excellent hips.
On offense Dymonte shows the ability to read blocks and the acceleration to burst through small creases. On film he also shows that extra gear that separates the supers from the good. Not only does he not get caught from behind he actually runs away from defenders.
On defense he is a solid form tackler who maintains proper leverage and good form tackling. His feet never stop moving and he finishes his tackles.
Concerns/Needs Work:
Dymonte will need to learn to play in space instead of at the line of scrimmage. He will also need to improve his coverage skills. Also, Dymonte could use a solid dose of S&C to add weight and strength.
Red-shirt or play his Freshman Year?
GBMWolverine believes he will likely red-shirt his first year, but that is probably more wishful thinking than anything right now. It is tough call a red-shirt at this time, but Dymonte has the skill to help even as a true freshman especially on special teams and depth at safety, but other things could factor in such as upperclassmen above him right now (Marvin Robinson and Josh Furman for examples) and if they decide to put the necessary time and effort into the off-season and spring football. A year of development and learning would be preferred for Dymonte, but the world of planning is not perfect. We might know a lot more once we see spring practices since he enrolled early which is always a great way of getting ahead and getting earlier playing time.
Dymonte Thomas reminds the GBMWolverine Staff of — Former Michigan Football Player — Ian Gold — who played running back, then turned into a linebacker.
Video Highlights:
Final Thoughts:
We welcome Dymonte Thomas to Michigan and hope he has a successful career on and off the football field as a student-athlete at the University of Michigan. Go Blue!
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Steve Kleintank – SKWDCOP
Go Blue — Wear Maize!