"It's not every day that a female gets to play college football" - Haley Van Voorhis finally speaks about creating history in NCAA football

Haley Van Voorhis, a 5-foot-6, 145-pound safety, made NCAA history by becoming the first female non-kicker/punter to play college football for Shenandoah University against Juniata.

Van Voorhis, who plays for the Shenandoah Hornets in Division III, entered the game in the first quarter and immediately forced a fourth down after a hurry on the opposing quarterback.

Appearing on an NBC News' "Today" segment, Haley Van Voorhis explained how it felt to enter the game.

"It's not every day that a female gets to play college football, so… The sideline was going crazy. It was such a great moment."

She further revealed the comments that she got after the game after her hit on the opposing quarterback.

"I have had some people come up to me after the game until I took my helmet off like, 'Dude, we didn't even know you were even a girl.'"

It's an unusual route that Haley Van Voorhis took, but her parents have always backed her, as she explained during the interview.

"As long as I was happy and did what I loved, they (Haley's parents) were all for it," Van Voorhis said.

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The extraordinary journey of Haley Van Voorhis

Haley Van Voorhis did not have a senior year, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She played high school football in Christchurch and was even an all-state honorable mention in 2019.

She has played in Shenandoah's junior varsity team for the past two years, and speaking to the Washington Post, she was delighted with her contribution after the game.

“It’s an amazing thing,” Van Voorhis said. “I just wanted to get out and do my thing. I want to show other people this is what women can do, to show what I can do. It’s a big moment. I made the impossible possible, and I’m excited about that.”

The record for the first woman to ever score in an NCAA game goes to Katie Hnida for New Mexico in 2003, and in 2020, Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller became the first woman to score in a Power Five game.

But those accomplishments were done by kickers, and there are several records still unbroken that Van Voorhis could go for.

Van Voorhis did not just play football but also ran track and played men's baseball. She has been a record-breaker in several arenas.

The latest record might get the most attention, but Haley Van Voorhis knows a thing or two about breaking glass ceilings.