By Scott Salomon
Miami tight-end Cam McCormick has been the butt of jokes overnight as he was awarded a ninth season of eligibility by the Atlantic Coast Conference and the NCAA. McCormick will start for the Hurricanes in what should be his final season of eligibility.
McCormick has gone where no man has gone before. Players have received seven or eight years of eligibility, but a ninth year has been unheard of…..until now.
From @TheAthletic: A college football player announced he is coming back for what will be his ninth season — a feat never achieved until now. https://t.co/rGorLBOAQv
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 19, 2024
The question is where do you draw the line, if you are the decision maker. At what point do you tell the player, “Hey, its time to get out of college and get a job.”
By contrast, in nine years, McCormick could earn a bachelors and several masters degrees. If he wanted, he could have gone to Miami’s medical school and became a medical doctor. That only takes eight years.
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McCormick has been compared to John Belushi‘s character “Bluto” Blutarsky in the cult film Animal House. Blutarsky, when he gets kicked out of school by Dean Vernon Wormer and Belushi utters the famous phrase, “seven years of college down the drain”.
The big blocker was injured for most of his career at Oregon, where he played for Miami head coach Mario Cristobal. When Cristobal came to Miami before the 2022 season, he brought his big tight end with him and it appears as though McCormick is not overstating his welcome.
Miami TE Cam McCormick announced he will return for his NINTH season of college football 🤯
Let's take a look back at his college career timeline ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ml3XudFHhC
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 19, 2024
Appreciate all of the support! #84Resilient #GoCanes pic.twitter.com/KKYlI2jO8P
— Cam (@McCormick_Cam) January 18, 2024
McCormick took to the platform formally known as Twitter to announce that he was receiving one more year and that this was his final season as an amateur. Debra McCormick, the ninth-year senior’s mother was tickled silly when the announcement was made and she also took to Twitter to express her joy and emotion.
https://twitter.com/dmccormick84/status/1748045045486518473
McCormick entered college the same year as fellow tight end Noah Fant, who has been in the NFL for five years.
Jalen Hurts was also part of the same high school class and is on his second contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. He also took the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance.
Other notable players who entered college with McCormick include Nick Bosa, Ed Oliver and Michael Pittman Jr.
Could you imagine the stats that Bosa would put up if he got nine years to play college football?
It appears as though McCormick will potentially enter the NFL next season and collect Social Security by his second contract.
