A college football player is returning for his 9th season. Yes, that is a thing

If there is one thing that fans of college football in Utah are familiar with, it is players who spend years and years and years suiting up for their college teams.

The most obvious current name to throw out there is Utah quarterback Cam Rising, who redshirted his freshman year at Texas in 2018, but will play for the Utes’ in 2024.

There is also Utah tight end Brant Kuithe, whose freshman year with the Utes was also in 2018.

At BYU, it is even easier to find players who’ve been around awhile, helped in part by the two-year hiatuses spent on missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Guys like linebacker Ben Bywater and defensive end Tyler Batty, both of whom were in the 2017 signing class.

Well, Cam McCormick, tight end at the University of Miami, has them all beat.

McCormick announced Thursday morning that he is returning for his ninth college football season.

McCormick was in the class of 2016, the year before both Bywater and Batty, the same high school class as NFL stars Jalen Hurts and Nick Bosa.

How is it possible that McCormick will play a ninth college football season?

The longtime Oregon Duck — the team he signed with coming out of Summit High School in Oregon as a three-star recruit — has dealt with season-ending injuries in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Throw in an additional year of eligibility because of the pandemic, and you have a player able to spend nine years playing college football.

The responses to McCormick’s announcement were as expected.

Here is a smattering of them: