Bend’s Cam McCormick, the longest-tenured player in Oregon football history, is about to make more college football history.

McCormick, who transferred to Miami last year, announced he would be returning to Miami for his unprecedented ninth season of college football on Thursday. It would be just the fourth full season of play for McCormick, whose career began at UO in 2017 but was plagued by injuries from 2018-21.

McCormick, a tight end, is 25 and graduated from Bend’s Summit High School in 2016.

“I love my teammates, my coaches, and the University of Miami,” McCormick said in a release. “Despite the challenges, I want to finish what we started together. The bond we share is everlasting and makes it all worthwhile.”

Two players previously played eight seasons of college football like McCormick has, but neither played last season, making McCormick likely the longest-tenured college football player.

McCormick had eight catches for 62 yards in 13 games last year for the ’Canes, appearing mostly as a blocking tight end as the starter.

He had 10 catches for 66 yards and three touchdowns at Oregon in 2022, his first full season without injury since his freshman year, and earned the Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award.

After redshirting as a true freshman in 2016 while also recovering from a torn left ACL as a senior at Summit, McCormick was one of three UO players hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis following overly strenuous workouts in January 2017 and was the only one not to file a lawsuit against the university.

He had six catches for 89 yards and a touchdown and three tackles in 2017 and missed nearly all of the 2018-21 seasons due to a broken left ankle he suffered during the 2018 season opener against Bowling Green, which required three surgeries, and tore his right Achilles against Ohio State in 2021.

McCormick was granted two additional years of eligibility by the NCAA prior to the 2020 season, which he also missed while eligibility clocks were paused amid the pandemic, and another year of eligibility due to the 2021 injury.

Over 36 career games he has 26 catches for 231 yards and four touchdowns and four tackles.

McCormick overcame an auditory processing disorder and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UO. He announced he will be making a donation to the football team at Gallaudet, a school for the deaf, to support fellow athletes overcoming unique challenges.

“Cam is an amazing young man of service, a great athlete, hard worker, and a natural-born leader,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said in a release.

“His return is a testament to his character and the values he brings to our team. We are excited to have him back for the upcoming season.”