Max Duggan eligibility: Can TCU QB play another year for Horned Frogs?

This may not be the end of the line for TCU star quarterback Max Duggan at the college level.

While Max Duggan became a college football legend for the TCU Horned Frogs this year, he could technically return to Fort Worth for one more season.

Duggan is a senior from Council Bluffs, Iowa. Although he has played in at least 10 games each college season since 2019, Duggan still has that COVID year to use, if he feels so inclined. Because he is not a first-round draft prospect, it is more likely than not he would return to TCU for his super senior season in 2023. Factor in the NIL opportunities and this would be incredibly hard to pass up.

Yes, Duggan could turn pro after his senior season, but he is not a big-time NFL Draft prospect.

Does TCU star quarterback Max Duggan have any collegiate eligibility left?

Had COVID not interrupted his collegiate run at TCU, Duggan would have exhausted all of his remaining eligibility this year by playing in a fifth game for the Horned Frogs. However, Duggan has the opportunity to get an additional season and make the 2020 COVID year not count. Though not all players will go this route, it definitely serves Duggan to not let this opportunity go to waste.

See, unless Duggan gets assurances that he will be a top-32 pick in next spring’s draft (he will not), he should absolutely return to TCU for a fifth season. The reasons for this are obvious. The first is when is he ever going to have an opportunity to be a living legend in his college football cathedral again? If he were to turn pro, Duggan would be a mid-round pick and no one will care.

The second reason he should go back is the rampant NIL opportunities he will have at his disposal in the metroplex. At the very least, Duggan would recoup some of the money he may be giving up by not turning pro. Factor in the chance he takes his game to an even higher level next season and his draft stock might only go up in 2024. Joe Burrow only went No. 1 overall by going back at LSU…

Finally, Duggan has the distinct pleasure to be part of one of the better runs in TCU football history. Sonny Dykes’ plans for the metroplex coming over from SMU are already paying dividends. The Horned Frogs would be a College Football Playoff contender next year, potentially righting the wrong of losing a heartbreaker to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game at Jerryworld.

Ultimately, Duggan has a big decision to make in a few weeks. If he is ready to go pro, then by all means, give the NFL everything you have got! However, it has never been a better time to be a college football star than in the early 2020s. The opportunity to capitalize on one’s name, image and likeness absolutely tips the scales to staying in school to exhaust all of that sweet eligibility.

By staying at TCU for one more season, Duggan can build his brand, his team’s brand and win big.

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