Why Hurricanes tight end Cam McCormick returned for an unprecedented ninth year of college football
CORAL GABLES — Miami Hurricanes tight end Cam McCormick turned 26 on Tuesday, which is old for a college player, but it does not make him the oldest player in college football history. Not even close.
McCormick is not even nearly the oldest Hurricane in recent program history; punter Lou Hedley was 29 when he was booming punts for Miami in 2022.
But no one has played nine seasons of college football, which is what McCormick will do this fall. The veteran tight end petitioned for the chance to return for a ninth season last year but was not sure he would use it. So why did he decide to return to the Hurricanes?
“Just the guys around here, really,” McCormick said. “The tight-end room, the team, the coaches. It all played a factor. I just want to leave here on my terms rather than not on my terms, and the coaches, the players ,the guys around just made it a really easy decision for me to want to do that.”
McCormick’s story has been told often. He is not playing his ninth season in college because he enjoys dining-hall food. The veteran tight end suffered numerous severe injuries during his time at Oregon before he transferred to Miami. He also received an extra year of eligibility due to the 2020 COVID-19 season, like all other players who were in college at the time.
“I wouldn’t really say it (feels) weird,” McCormick said. “Obviously, I had some unfortunate circumstances that happened and I’ve been blessed to be able to play this long. So it’s definitely cool. I’m the first person to play nine years. That’s something that holds value to it, you know what I’m saying? I don’t know if another person will ever get to that point. It’s cool to, I guess, own that title.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAY !!! @McCormick_Cam#GoCanes@CanesFootball pic.twitter.com/dZqfc0whCL
— Mario Cristobal (@coach_cristobal) April 2, 2024
McCormick said his biggest goal for this year is to make sure the tight ends are a “connected room,” so they spend a lot of time together off the field. The group includes the veteran McCormick, fourth-year Elijah Arroyo, second-years Riley Williams and Jackson Carver and freshman Elija Lofton.
“We’re a really tight group,” Williams said. “We hang out a lot outside the facility, outside of practice, outside of meetings. We’ll go out to eat together, go to each other’s houses. We’ll hang out. It’s really as good of a connection, and we’re pushing each other every day. We’re holding all the rest of us accountable, really, every day at practice.”
Despite the age difference, the tight ends are all getting along.
“I like to think about it as Cam’s our grandpa, Elijah’s the dad, I’m the middle child and we’ve got little E as the youngest,” Williams said. “It’s cool to think about it that way, building that relationship. We took Elija Lofton in and we’re showing him the ropes. We all learn from Cam and Elijah because they’re the oldest ones in our room, so it’s fun.”
The younger tight ends have praised McCormick and Arroyo for teaching them and guiding them through their early college experiences.
“(I’ve learned) a lot,” Lofton said, “like route-running, blocking, technique, hand placements. Mostly just blocking and routes, being more physical, learning the playbook, stuff like schemes, defense, a lot of things.”
McCormick, who had eight catches for 62 yards last season, said he wants to teach the young tight ends to celebrate each other and not envy others’ success. He expects there to be a lot for them to enjoy.
“What I want to improve on is building up the guys around me and having these guys be excited for each other’s success,” McCormick said. “There’s going to be a lot of success in this room, and I don’t want guys to get to that selfish aspect. I want us all to celebrate each other’s success and build each other up when we get out there and we each make a play and we can all be happy for each other.”