Oregon Ducks tight end Cam McCormick is unsure whether he’ll return to Eugene for his eighth season, but he now has nine years of eligibility to work with. 

McCormick was granted his ninth year by the NCAA due to tearing his Achilles in 2021, according to The Oregonian. 

McCormick redshirted his freshman year in 2016 before appearing in 13 games during the 2017 season. 

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He suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of his sophomore year in 2018 and went on to miss the entirety of the 2019 and 2020 seasons. 

After playing in just two games in 2021, McCormick suffered another season-ending injury. He appeared in 12 games for Oregon in 2022, hauling in nine catches for 64 yards and three touchdowns. 

"I’ve thought about it; it’s a tough decision," McCormick said after Friday’s practice, according to The Oregonian. "I’m not totally keen on what my decision is going to be yet. I’m going to continue to enjoy this game with my teammates and make the decision after the game.... I couldn’t imagine doing nine. If anything, I applied for it just to have it after Ohio State last year. I tore my Achilles and thankfully was able to get it. The option’s there, I do have it. Whether I use it, it’s in the air. Thinking about returning for a year eight." 

No. 13 Oregon will play North Carlina in the Holiday Bowl on December 28th. 

McCormick has already earned his bachelor's degree and his master's, saying he would study yoga or business or pursue internships in order to satisfy the academic requirements. 

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McCormick was announced as the winner of the Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award on Wednesday, awarded to the player who displays courage on and off the field. 

"We couldn't be more proud of Cam," head coach Dan Lanning said. "He has been through so much, both on and off the field, throughout his life, and has never given up or stopped fighting to reach his goals. His ability to persevere and overcome hardship while always maintaining a positive attitude is truly inspiring. 

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"Cam is a great role model and a tremendous leader for our football team. He works hard and always treats people the right way, a testament to how he was raised by his mom, Deb, and his support system. He is a true Man of Oregon and is incredibly deserving of this honor."

McCormick is not considered an NFL Draft pick, and it is unlikely that he will receive an invitation to the NFL combine. 

The James Webb Space Telescope team announced Thursday that scientists had discovered dozens of energetic jets and outflows from young stars previously hidden by dust clouds in one of the $10 billion-dollar observatory's iconic first images. 

In a release, NASA said that the "rare" find – including a paper published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society this month – marks the beginning of a new era of investigating star formation, as well as how radiation from nearby massive stars might affect the development of planets.

The Carina Nebula's Cosmic Cliffs, within the star cluster NGC 3324, is seen in a new wavelength with Webb and the telescope's capabilities allow researchers to track the movement of other features previously captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Analyzing data from a specific wavelength of infrared light, astronomers discovered two dozen previously unknown outflows from extremely young stars revealed by molecular hydrogen. 

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Molecular hydrogen is a vital ingredient in stellar formation and a good way to trace the early stages of that process. 

"As young stars gather material from the gas and dust that surround them, most also eject a fraction of that material back out again from their polar regions in jets and outflows. These jets then act like a snowplow, bulldozing into the surrounding environment. Visible in Webb’s observations is the molecular hydrogen getting swept up and excited by these jets," NASA explained. 

Objects were discovered: including "small fountains" and "burbling behemoths that extend light-years from the forming stars."

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Previous observations of jets and outflows looked mostly at nearby regions and more evolved objects that are already detectable in Hubble's wavelengths.

"The unparalleled sensitivity of Webb allows observations of more distant regions, while its infrared optimization probes into the dust-sampling younger stages. Together this provides astronomers with an unprecedented view into environments that resemble the birthplace of our solar system," the agency noted.

Many of these protostars are set to become low-mass stars, like the sun.

This period of star formation, NASA added, is particularly hard to capture because it's relatively fleeting.

Webb's observations are also help astronomers shed light on how active the star-forming regions are.

By comparing the position of previously known outflows in this region to Hubble data from 16 years ago, the scientists were able to track the speed and direction in which the jets are moving.