The NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank CenterUniversity of Miami’s opening touchdown Saturday was nearly a decade in the making. 

Cam McCormick’s ninth season of college football got off to a fairytale start after the tight end scored the Hurricanes’ first touchdown of the 2024 season during Miami’s season opener against Florida.

McCormick, 26, caught a 9-yard pass from Cam Ward to give the Hurricanes an early first-quarter lead over the Gators. 

The touchdown is just the fifth of McCormick’s career since he first enrolled in college at Oregon in 2016. It is also McCormick’s first for Miami since he transferred from Oregon ahead of the 2023 season. 

The NCAA granted McCormick his ninth year of eligibility after he suffered season-ending ankle and Achilles injuries in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.