Clayton Thorson has been one of the constants in Northwestern football the last few years.

Thorson, a junior in 2017, suffered a torn ACL in the Wildcats’ bowl game to end the season against Kentucky. His timetable to return was in 10-12 months. The injury occurred in December, so even 10 months would have put him back in October.

The 6-foot-4 signal caller beat the odds, though, and played for Northwestern in Week 1 against Purdue on Aug. 30.

The road was a long one for Thorson, and he described it in this video that Northwestern posted on Twitter Sunday:

He said he wanted to do what he’s been doing for the team over the past three years, and that was play quarterback. Thanks to Thorson’s hard work, he did just that in the team’s season opening win over Purdue.

Thorson and the Wildcats are set to play Duke at noon on Saturday at home. The game will be televised on ESPNU.