A few weeks ago, it seemed unlikely Ambry Thomas would play in Michigan football's season opener.
Thomas, a junior cornerback, spent part of the offseason recovering from colitis. The condition led to significant weight loss, and based on what Jim Harbaugh said about Thomas' recovery process, a seemingly long and arduous series of milestones awaited before he would be cleared to return to the field.
Thomas reached one milestone the second-to-last week of camp, when he returned to practice. Then crossed off the last milestone by starting in Saturday's 40-21 win over Middle Tennessee State.