The NCAA’s decision during the early months of the pandemic to grant a free year of eligibility for the 2020 season opened the door for a generation of players to extend their careers interminably. And now, thanks to increased transfer freedom, they can even do so at three or more schools.
All of which has created endless headaches for coaches but absolute gold for those of us who produce college football content for a living.
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We are thrilled to unveil our fourth annual “Wait, They’re Still Playing College Football?” Team. Past honorees include Britain Covey (2021), Tanner Morgan (2022), Xavier Thomas (2022), Sam Hartman (2023) and Will Reichard (2023).
Welcome to the club, Cameron Rising and KJ Jefferson.
(Note: We picked 11 players on offense and defense but did not limit by position.)
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Offense
QB Cameron Rising, Utah (captain)
First season of college football: 2018
Utah’s two-time Pac-12 championship QB outlasted the Pac-12 itself. In fact, he’s back in the conference where he began his career, the Big 12, as a member of Tom Herman’s first full Texas recruiting class(!). After suffering a serious knee injury in the Jan. 1, 2023 Rose Bowl, Rising missed all of last season but should be back this fall. And thanks to a recent settlement in a lawsuit over the NCAA’s transfer rules, he may even be able to return in 2025.
According to the terms of the transfer settlement, yes, it appears Cam Rising could get an 8th year if he wants it.
It says the settlement applies to any athletes who sat out since 2019-20. He sat out the 2019 season upon transferring. https://t.co/lrGbR4m4ym
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) May 30, 2024
QB Alan Bowman, Oklahoma State
First season of college football: 2018
A repeat honoree, Bowman’s first college start came as a true freshman for Texas Tech on Sept. 8, 2018. He would go on to start 16 games over three injury-plagued seasons in Lubbock before spending the next two years as a backup at Michigan. In 2023, he moved to Oklahoma State, where, in Week 2, he earned his first college start in nearly three years and eventually led the Cowboys to a Big 12 championship game.
QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
First season of college football: 2019
Bo Nix finished his Oregon career with an NCAA-record 61 starts. His successor, Gabriel, already stands at 50. He was a true freshman starter for UCF in 2019 and held on to the job the next year before suffering a season-ending injury in 2021. He then transferred to Oklahoma and led the Sooners for the past two seasons. Now in Eugene, he has a chance to become the rare (only?) player to earn all-conference honors in three different leagues (AAC, Big 12, Big Ten).
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QB KJ Jefferson, UCF
First season of college football: 2019
Yes, Jefferson is still in college, though no longer at Arkansas, where the 6-foot-3, 247-pound quarterback made 38 starts. He memorably dueled Heisman winner Bryce Young in a 42-35 shootout loss in 2021, threw five touchdowns at BYU in 2022 and racked up 417 total yards in a 55-53 triple-OT bowl win over Kansas. His production dipped in 2023, though, at which point he opted to join Gus Malzahn in Orlando.
QB Graham Mertz, Florida
First season of college football: 2019
This October will mark seven years since the top-100 recruit filled Wisconsin fans with euphoria, becoming that program’s highest-rated QB commit since … ever? Unfortunately, his four-year career in Madison was filled with more mediocrity than glory, but given a fresh start in Gainesville, he improved dramatically last year (72.9 percent passing, 20 TDs, 3 INTs). Mertz is back for what will likely be his fifth consecutive season as a college starter.
QB Tyler Shough, Louisville
First season of college football: 2018
How long has Shough been in college football? He committed to Oregon when the Ducks’ coach was Willie Taggart, who has since come and gone from two other head coaching jobs (Florida State and FAU). He backed up Justin Herbert for two seasons and was the Ducks’ starter in 2020 before heading to Texas Tech, where injuries limited him to just 15 games over the last three years. A broken fibula in the fourth game of last season allowed for a medical redshirt and another fresh start.
QB Gerry Bohanon, BYU
First season of college football: 2018
Remember way back in 2021 when Baylor won a dramatic Big 12 championship game over Oklahoma State? Well, Bohanon missed that one, but he did play in another Baylor Big 12 title game two years before that. After losing the Bears’ starting job in spring 2022, Bohanon transferred to USF, where a shoulder injury cost him the past season-and-a-half. Now he’s at BYU, with a chance to make yet another Big 12 title game.
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WR Bru McCoy, Tennessee
First season of college football: 2019
The five-star McCoy signed with USC, only to transfer to Texas weeks later, only to return to the Trojans following spring practice. After being dismissed from USC in 2021, his career finally took off at Tennessee, where he caught 69 passes for 884 yards over 17 games before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 5 last year. And the 24-year-old could still get another year of eligibility if he wants it thanks to that transfer rule court settlement.
WR Frank Ladson Jr., UMass
First season of college football: 2019
While Ladson may not be a household name, recruitniks surely remember the former top-40 prospect. And ACC fans know him from his stints at Clemson and Miami, where he produced a career-high 27 catches for 298 yards in 2022 before being relegated to special teams last year. But we suspect almost none of you reading this story had any idea he was now at UMass.
TE Cam McCormick, Miami
First season of college football: 2016
Ladies and gentlemen, here he is: our country’s first-known ninth-year senior! McCormick, who was in the same recruiting class as NFL stars Jalen Hurts, Nick Bosa and DK Metcalf, spent seven years at Oregon, but injuries cost him most or all of four consecutive seasons (2018-21). Finally healthy, McCormick played the entire 2022 season at Oregon and became a starter last season at Miami. After earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Eugene, the 25-year-old took undergraduate classes last fall.
TE Brant Kuithe, Utah
First season of college football: 2018
Kuithe is a rare seventh-year senior who’s been at the same school throughout his career. In fact, he started for the Utes in the 2018 Pac-12 championship, their first of four trips over the next five seasons. He earned All-Pac-12 honors in 2019, 2020 and 2021 before tearing his ACL four games into the 2022 season. Like his teammate Rising, he wound up sitting out the entire 2023 season while rehabbing but is now back for another run.
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Key backups: Florida State QB DJ Uiagalelei; Oklahoma QB Casey Thompson; Utah State QB Spencer Petras; Northwestern QB Ryan Hilinski; TCU RB Trey Sanders; Missouri WR Theo Wease Jr.; NC State OL Zeke Correll
Defense
DL Jordan Burch, Oregon
First season of college football: 2020
Burch, the No. 8 overall recruit in the 2020 class, was a massive recruiting victory for Will Muschamp and spent three up-and-down years at South Carolina before hitting the portal and landing at Oregon. After producing a team-high 7.5 tackles for loss last season, Burch stayed in school and is looking to go out on a high note as the Ducks chase a national title in 2024.
DL Trace Ford, Oklahoma
First season of college football: 2019
The sixth-year senior got off to a strong start in his first two seasons at Oklahoma State but endured brutal setbacks with ACL tears in both 2020 and 2021 and a fractured patella in 2022. Ford looked for a fresh start via the transfer portal and flipped sides in the Bedlam rivalry by joining the Sooners. He enjoyed a solid season as a rotational pass rusher last fall and came back for one final season.
DL Jermayne Lole, Texas
First season of college football: 2018
Lole played for future Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce at Long Beach Poly and followed him to Tempe for Year 1 under Herm Edwards. He impressed in three seasons with the Sun Devils, spent two at Louisville and re-entered the portal as a grad transfer this spring. Lole committed to Oklahoma and then decided to flip to rival Texas, which needed a veteran big man to help replace T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy.
LB Keenan Pili, Tennessee
First season of college football: 2019
New Vols linebackers coach William Inge gave his super-senior linebacker a nickname that stuck this spring: Uncle Grandpa. It’s a fair diss. Pili signed with BYU in 2016, served his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2017 to ’19 and then returned and developed into a starter and captain for the Cougars before transferring to Tennessee. Why is he still in school? Pili suffered a season-ending triceps injury in his Vols debut last year but was granted an NCAA waiver to extend his eligibility. The 26-year-old is healthy and ready to make a big impact this fall.
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LB Nick Jackson, Iowa
First season of college football: 2019
Due to some tragic and unusual circumstances, Jackson has an opportunity to become one of the most experienced players in college football history.
He has already played in 60 games with 47 starts and logged 3,527 career snaps, most among all returning FBS linebackers. Jackson played four full seasons at Virginia, earning All-ACC honors three times and leading the conference in tackles in 2021. After the November 2022 on-campus shooting in Charlottesville that left three UVA football players dead, Jackson transferred to Iowa for his fifth year and had another standout 100-tackle season for the Hawkeyes.
Virginia seniors were granted an extra year of eligibility following the shooting, so Jackson had the opportunity to get an NCAA waiver for a sixth season and spend one more year in Iowa City.
LB Marcel Brooks, TCU
First season of college football: 2019
The five-star recruit got on the field as a true freshman and recorded 1.5 sacks for Joe Burrow’s national championship squad in 2019. Brooks transferred back home to TCU in 2020 and is now in his fifth year in the program. He has dealt with injuries (and a brief move to wide receiver) and has yet to start a game for the Horned Frogs but had a great spring under new defensive coordinator Andy Avalos.
CB Tony Grimes, UNLV
First season of college football: 2020
Grimes, a five-star recruit, reclassified to get an early start on his college career at North Carolina and emerged as a true freshman starter for the Tar Heels’ Orange Bowl squad in 2020. The 28-game starter transferred to Texas A&M in 2023 in an attempt to boost his NFL Draft stock. He never played a snap for the Aggies, missing the season due to injury. Now Grimes is looking to get his career back on track at UNLV. He’ll have another season of eligibility in 2025, too, if he wants to stay.
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CB Woodi Washington, Oklahoma
First season of college football: 2019
How long has Oklahoma’s super-senior cornerback been in college? He’s the only player left on the roster who committed to play for defensive coordinator Mike Stoops in 2018. Washington has an opportunity to become a five-year starter for the Sooners under Brent Venables. The versatile cover man and team leader has played nearly 3,000 career snaps and preferred to stay in school rather than go to the NFL.
S Malachi Moore, Alabama
First season of college football: 2020
Here’s one you rarely see at Alabama: a Freshman All-American who ends up staying for five years. Moore impressed as a true freshman starter on Nick Saban’s national championship squad in 2020, has played 52 career games and was a team captain last season. He bypassed the draft for one extra season in Tuscaloosa and is one of the SEC’s most experienced returning defenders with more than 2,700 career snaps.
S Jalen Catalon, UNLV
First season of college football: 2019
Catalon was a critical recruiting win for Chad Morris and Arkansas and got off to an extremely promising start to his career, earning All-SEC and Freshman All-America honors in 2020. After shoulder issues forced him to miss most of the next two seasons, Catalon sought a fresh start by transferring to Texas and started five games for the CFP-bound Longhorns in 2023 until a leg injury limited his playing time. Here’s hoping he can have better fortune during his final season in Las Vegas.
S Asa Turner, Florida
First season of college football: 2019
Turner was a true freshman starter at Washington during Chris Petersen’s final season and started 28 of 43 games during his five seasons with the Huskies. He’s back for one more, this time in the SEC with the Gators, thanks to an interesting technicality: Turner played in four regular-season games in 2023 and was able to count it as a redshirt season — even though he returned from injury in time to play in the Pac-12 title game and both CFP games. Yep, that’s right, a seven-game redshirt. Don’t think we’ve ever seen that before.
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Key backups: BYU DL Tyler Batty; Notre Dame LB Jack Kiser; Arizona LB Justin Flowe; Texas LB David Gbenda; Miami (Ohio) LB Matt Salopek; Arkansas DB Hudson Clark
Special teams
K Jordan Noyes, Colorado State
First season of college football: 2020
The oldest member of this year’s squad is Noyes, a married father of three who’ll turn 32 in August. The native of Kent, England, had an absolutely fascinating journey into the world of college football.
Noyes, a financial advisor who played soccer on weekends, was introduced to NFL kicker Matt Gay at his wedding in Portugal in 2018 and took an interest in kicking. Gay connected him with Utah’s coaching staff, and Noyes earned a roster spot as a preferred walk-on at a camp. He became their kickoff specialist in 2020 and played three seasons at Utah before moving on to Colorado State.
Noyes went 15 of 19 on field goals and 29 of 29 on extra points in his debut season with the Rams and is back for his fifth year.
P Mark Crawford, Minnesota
First season of college football: 2020
Crawford continues the tradition of Australian punters thriving in the Big Ten. The 30-year-old dabbled in Aussie rules football and cricket when he was younger and was a sprinkler repairman before he joined ProKick and trained to become a college punter. Crawford has been a four-year starter for the Gophers and ranked seventh in the conference in punting average in 2023. Fellow ProKick alums Luke Larsen (ECU) and Hugh Robertson (Illinois) are both 31 and were tough to leave off the team, but Crawford’s experience won out.
Kick returner Chris Tyree, Virginia
First season of college football: 2020
Tyree is technically an old-fashioned fifth-year senior, but the first four were at Notre Dame, where he played on network TV nearly every week, so it feels like he’s been around forever. The former five-star running back never rose to feature back status, but last year he switched to receiver, where he led the Irish with 484 yards. For his career, he has 3,284 all-purpose yards, including 1,059 on kick returns.
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All-purpose: Micah Bernard, Utah
First season of college football: 2019
Bernard has spent the bulk of his career at running back, gaining 1,828 yards from scrimmage. But the reason he falls into this category — and the reason you likely remember his name — is that he famously had to fill in at cornerback for the Utes in the Jan. 1, 2022 Rose Bowl against Ohio State. He had the misfortune of covering Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The first-rounder racked up a mere 347 receiving yards that day.
(Top illustration photos: Caitie McMekin / News Sentinel, Rob Gray / USA Today)