[ZOOKER]

“Calzada, who is playing his seventh season of college football”
Seventh season? What’s he doing, getting a PhD?

Guess I must be old --- I thought you were only eligible for four seasons at most. When did that change?

[pburiak]

Four standard years.
Plus:
One redshirt year (practice but don’t play in games)
One injury exemption year if granted.
The seventh was a “COVID year” for 2020-2021 in case a player was enrolled in a state or a school that shut down or curtailed their sports program (thankfully this will be ending soon)

[nickcarraway]

It used to be four playing years over five total years. Now there are all kinds of exceptions outside of COVID.

Cam McCormick is a Tight End who did nine season s in college football. He started in 2016 and finished and played his last game on December 28th, 2024. He wasn't drafted, now he's a scout with the Patriots. The strange thing is he was only at two colleges. He apparently has a lot of injuries, and got exemptions for that.

They might as well have given him a 10th year.

[Getready]

Redshirts, medical redshirt, and COVID.
Calzada’s situation is the reason it is difficult for me to be a college football fan rooting for any team. The players don’t represent the school. They represent their own contracts.
The “rah-rah, hey the students at my school are better than yours” factor is GONE. Now, it’s” my semi-autonomous athletic department can recruit and pay better players than your school can”