South Carolina football quarterback is former teammate of player starting his 9th college season

South Carolina football fans were thankful for 7th-year senior Jordan Strachan in 2023. After taking a redshirt at Georgia State and utilizing the "Covid redshirt," Strachan was granted a 7th year of eligibility with a medical redshirt after tearing his ACL in 2022. Upon his return last fall, Strachan had some important moments for the Gamecocks, including a big game against Kentucky in which he logged 2 sacks and earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week.

But that is nothing compared to Miami tight end Cam McCormick.

McCormick anounced Thursday that he will be returning to the Hurricanes this fall for his NINTH season of college football.

Set to be 26 years old before the 2024 season begins, McCormick began his career playing for his home state Oregon Ducks. He stayed in Eugene for seven seasons and earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree before hitting the transfer portal and joining the Miami Hurricanes before the 2023 season. (There has been no word as to whether he is working on his Doctorate or a separate Master's).

A traditional redshirt, the "Covid" redshirt, and multiple medical redshirts are responsible for McCormick's ability to stay in school and remain eligible. New Gamecock transfer quarterback Robby Ashford was a teammate of McCormick's at Oregon.

McCormick has not played much in his career (26 catches and 3 touchdowns over 8 seasons), but he saw action in all 13 games the last two years. He had his career-high in yardage back (89 yards) in his freshman season back in 2016.

What else was happening in the world in 2016?

• Barack Obama was the president of the United States and the president-elect was Donald Trump
• The United Kingdom was still in the European Union
• The Apple iPhone 7 was newly released and became the world's top-selling smartphone
• Marvel Studios began production of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame
• LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals
• Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore (he's now a 6th-year pro in the NFL)

In the world of South Carolina football,

• Will Muschamp began his first season as the head coach of the Gamecocks
• Players like Jake Bentley, Bryan Edwards, and Rico Dowdle started their college careers
• Deebo Samuel got his first college start at wide receiver
• The rival Clemson Tigers still had not won a National Championship under Dabo Swinney (won in January 2017)
• Shane Beamer was a tight ends coach at Georgia under first-year headman Kirby Smart
• The transfer portal didn't exist
• NIL was just a typo from someone trying to talk about National Letters of Intent

Since Cam McCormick enrolled at Oregon in the spring of 2016, South Carolina football

• Has had 5 offensive coordinators
• Brought in two of their top-10 all-time leading passers (Jake Bentley and Spencer Rattler)
• Saw 4 players enter the top-15 all-time in receiving yards (Bryan Edwards, Deebo Samuel, Shi Smith, and Xavier Legette)
• Put out 23 players picked in the NFL Draft
• Has had two players drafted who then set NFL records (Deebo Samuel: all-time rushing touchdowns by a receiver; Ernest Jones: all-time, single-season tackles by a Ram)

Cam McCormick is the college football equivalent of Van Wilder, and love it or hate it, he will start his 9th season when Miami begins their spring practice in March.