The COVID-19 pandemic may have fundamentally altered college football forever. Previously, a player could receive five years of eligibility with a redshirt season, but players were granted an extra year of eligibility due to COVID and now there are players making six or more year careers out of college football.

Perhaps the most famous example of this is former Oregon Ducks tight end Cam McCormick. He was relentlessly teased online for being granted nine years of eligibility, but he finally hung up the cleats this year and went undrafted.

Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team reported that with his playing career behind him, McCormick is being hired by the New England Patriots as a scouting assistant. He obviously has no experience coaching, but a player who has been around the college game as long as he has likely has a good sense of how to evaluate players.

Even if he doesn’t, McCormick will be trained by a head scout to gain the necessary expertise. After being the butt of jokes for years, he gets an opportunity to climb the NFL ladder and garner the respect of fans nationwide.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Former Oregon Duck takes on new role with the New England Patriots