SMU-bound grad transfer Max Cummins welcoming 2nd chance after injuries
Another one-time Texas Longhorn has found a home on the Hilltop. Defensive end Max Cummins, who once retired because of knee injuries, is ready to return as a grad transfer for SMU.
Max Cummins never had a chance to truly make his mark as a college football player. He redshirted his first season at the University of Texas in 2017, and season-ending knee surgery got in the way of opportunities the next two seasons.
College football has been a frustrating chapter of Cummins' personal story, but completely giving up on a lifelong dream has been harder than any rehabilitation he's ever been associated with. Last Friday, after considering himself retired from the sport, the 6-6, 260-pound defensive end from Fort Worth officially announced that his chance to once again play football will happen next season.
Purchase a PREMIUM ACCESS FREE TRIAL for The HillTopics until Feb. 1
Cummins posted on social media that he will be joining the SMU football team as a graduate transfer in 2021. "Keeping the dream alive" was the message he wanted left with his social media followers.
"[Football] was something I wasn't quite ready to be done with," Cummins told The HillTopics. "I still have the fire in my heart, and I want to be out on the field."
Cummins, who will start his career at SMU as a walk-on, is a player the staff believes is low-risk, high-reward. He won state championships at Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal in high school. He registered 72 (seven for loss), 5.5 sacks, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles during his senior season.
The expectations were high of him at Texas, but his career was unable to get out of neutral, as he tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee and also dislocated his kneecap in 2018. Additionally, Cummins partially tore his patellofemoral ligament.
Cummins has had three knee procedures since the spring of 2018, the latest occurring in August of 2019.
"The last procedure was a newer procedure where they tried to create more cartilage and more lubrication," Cummins said. "It seemed to have worked, because my knee feels great.
Cummins believes his knee injuries are important testimonies to his personal story. He medically retired last December but always knew he had something left to give from a football perspective.
There are those who would have hung up the cleats after the first knee procedure, let alone three in an 18-month span. Cummins simply wasn't ready to put himself in that category.
"I can't thank the staff enough for believing in me and keeping my dream alive," he said. "I want to be as transparent as possible. I'm not here to hide anything about my injuries. It happened, it is what it is, but this is my second chance to prove to everybody that I'm ready to play again."
Cummins graduated from Texas last week, and he said he'll be at SMU in May. He's currently participating in an internship that he wants to finish in the spring.
Plus, the extra time in the Austin area will allow him to continue his weekly rehabilitation. He does physical therapy three times a week, and he also trains four times a week at Xceleration Sports Performance Labs -- which also has trained NFL quarterback and former Lake Travis High School star Baker Mayfield.
"It will give me an extra six months to prepare, which is awesome," Cummins said. "The people I'm working with right now are really on a track to get me in the best football shape of my life."
Cummins said he has been in regular contact with SMU defensive line coach Randall Joyner, as well as head coach Sonny Dykes. He's expecting to be used as an edge rusher and could be a voice of experience to the younger athletes.
Cummins said he's also been in contact with a few of the players who have already been in his shoes. He's spoken with both quarterback Shane Buechele and kicker Chris Naggar, two graduate transfers who came from Texas, as well as defensive tackle Mike Williams, a grad transfer from Stanford who also played high school ball at All Saints.
Getting to SMU and getting on the field seems so far away for Cummins, as he'll arrive on the Hilltop in roughly five months.
Happy, yet hungry.
"I can't say anything other than I'm blessed to have a second chance with a staff that believes in me at a place where I know I can make a quick transition to and call home," he said.