McKenzie Milton made his long-awaited return to college football and sports fans were emotional

Welcome back to college football, McKenzie Milton.

It’s taken over 1,000 days for McKenzie Milton to make his return to a college football field and he did so in a major moment for Florida State.

Milton’s story is a familiar one if you’re a college football fan. In November 2018, Milton was injured playing for University of Central Florida, an injury that threatened his career due to its unexpected severity and recovery complications along the way.

In 2021, now with Florida State, Milton has taken his first snaps as a college quarterback in nearly three years. On Sunday, Milton checked into FSU’s game against Notre Dame after quarterback Jordan Travis lost his helmet and could not compete in the next play.

Milton’s first play? A gorgeous completion to get FSU rolling down 38-28 in the fourth quarter.

Cool moment here. Welcome back to College Football McKenzie Milton. pic.twitter.com/d8ghtUw8Zn

— Billy Stats (@Billy_Stats) September 6, 2021

In his first drive, Milton went four for four and led Florida State to a touchdown to kick off the comeback. In total, Milton went five of seven for 48 yards as Florida State tied up Notre Dame to send the game into overtime.

Though Milton’s night ended there, as did Florida State’s comeback hopes in a 41-38 loss, this was an incredible and inspiring moment to be witness to. Here are some other moments from Milton’s emotional comeback to college football.