MUSKEGON — Reeths-Puffer senior Travis Ambrose didn’t play football as a junior, but got “suckered in,” in coach Cody Kater’s words, the next offseason when Rockets’ defensive coordinator Jari Brown told him he was too special an athlete not to give the gridiron another look.
The journey Ambrose started by agreeing with Brown hit a key checkpoint Wednesday when he signed a national letter of intent to play at Central Michigan, an occasion the school celebrated with an afternoon ceremony. The 6-7 all-state star is signing with the Chippewas as a tight end, but says he’s open to playing wherever CMU needs him - including offensive line, if that’s how it shakes out.
It’s that kind of team-first philosophy that spoke to Ambrose when he dove full bore into football.
“Just the brotherhood that it builds,” Ambrose said. “The kids here at Reeths-Puffer, I’ve never had that close of a team. I can rely on them with my life. I trust in them. The coaches, I can trust in them. I can talk to them about life. It’s not just football. It’s a community game.”
Ambrose played flag football as a youngster - his parents wouldn’t permit him to play tackle football prior to high school - and was part of the varsity team as a sophomore before electing to play tennis as a junior instead. He moved to Michigan from California in large part because COVID-19 had wiped out basketball season out west and he wanted to go somewhere where he’d be permitted to play. His parents later joined him, but the lengths to which Ambrose will go to compete had already been established. As R-P athletic director Cliff Sandee said during the ceremony, the jump from R-P to CMU won’t be nearly as difficult or taxing for Ambrose as his leap from the United States’ west coast to Michigan’s.
For two years, basketball seemed for all the world like Ambrose’s path to a college scholarship - he continues to be, along with teammate, good friend and Ferris State signee Jaxson Whitaker, the driving force of the hoops team - but the football bug bit him for good in June when he went to a CMU camp with R-P coaches and a few other players.
Kater said it took about 15 minutes for Chippewas’ coach Jim McElwain to take notice of Ambrose at the camp. That didn’t surprise Kater, who said he called Ambrose “our unicorn” when letting CMU coaches know he’d be coming to the camp.
McElwain quickly plugged Kater, a CMU grad himself, for more information about Ambrose as he contemplated an offer.
“The second or third question from Coach McElwain was, ‘You’re a Chip. Can he play here?’ (I said,) ‘Absolutely,’” Kater said. “He’s got the right pedigree. He’s got the right work ethic towards a goal; he was showing that in basketball. He’s resilient; he’s been away from home for a few years. His sister (Madie) plays water polo at Michigan. He’s got all those characteristics of becoming a great player and being one of the brothers of the (CMU) tradition.”
Kater’s reply was enough for McElwain; by the end of that night, Ambrose had his offer.
“That (offer) really made a huge impact in my life and changed everything completely,” Ambrose said.
Armed with even more motivation than before, Ambrose starred on the gridiron this fall. While his raw numbers - 25 catches, 304 yards, six touchdowns - weren’t eye-popping, they were enough to earn Ambrose a spot on the coaches’ association Division 2 all-state team. Ambrose announced his commitment to CMU Nov. 2, less than a week after the Rockets’ season ended.
According to the Chippewas’ website, Ambrose picked CMU over several Division II basketball offers. As much as CMU liked Ambrose’s high school production, it’s betting on his talent and who he is as a person even more.
“I think he is a culture character guy,” Kater said. “He’s going to help your culture because of his character. He’s not going to be a grade issue. He’s not going to be an issue off the field with other players. He’s going to be one of the 100 percent guys.”
“Coach McElwain has a great history of developing players. That’s encouraging and a good spot to be for him, with that staff, because they’ve seen a lot and developed a lot of different talent. That part of it, we felt great about him being there because of that, with a staff that’s confident enough in their ability to see talent and not have to chase the Twitter likes and all of those types of things. Those guys obviously saw something that they liked.”
