Ohio State football quarterback Kyle McCord enters the NCAA transfer portal
Joey KaufmanKyle McCord put his name in the NCAA transfer portal as it opened Monday, a major shakeup to Ohio State’s quarterback room.
McCord started behind center after he edged Devin Brown in a tight offseason competition that spilled over into the early weeks of the season.
"I'm extremely thankful for my time at Ohio State," McCord wrote in a graphic shared on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "Playing in the scarlet and gray was truly an honor."
In his debut season as a starter, McCord threw for 3,170 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions as he completed 65.8% of his passes, receiving third-team All-Big Ten recognition last week.
But his status as the starter moving forward was unclear.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day was noncommittal about McCord remaining the starting quarterback as a senior next season or even for the Cotton Bowl at the end of this month as he met with reporters at a news conference the previous day.
“We'll just kind of see how practice goes,” Day said.
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Day mentioned all of the passers would have opportunities to compete for reps ahead of the matchup with Missouri on Dec. 29. The Buckeyes have three other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster with Brown, as well as Tristan Gebbia and Lincoln Kienholz.
Gebbia, a seventh-year senior who transferred from Oregon State, is in his last year of eligibility, but Brown and Kienholz are able to return next season, and Air Noland, a five-star quarterback from suburban Atlanta, is also set to sign as part of the 2024 recruiting class in two weeks.
Since Day took over the program from Urban Meyer in 2019, the Buckeyes have been buoyed by premier quarterback play.
Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud were Heisman Trophy finalists in their first seasons starting, as was Dwayne Haskins Jr. in Meyer’s final season in 2018.
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But McCord had more ups and downs this fall, especially as an injury to his left ankle appeared to affect him later in the year.
He threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns at archrival Michigan, but was also twice picked off in the 30-24 loss that kept the Buckeyes from reaching the College Football Playoff or winning the Big Ten. The first of the two interceptions proved particularly costly as it occurred as Ohio State was deep in its own territory in the first quarter, setting up to the Wolverines’ first touchdown. The sequence was endemic of slow starts by McCord.
The high point for McCord was a dramatic comeback at Notre Dame in September when he led a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minute, completing a series of passes in critical situations on third and fourth down.
That included a 22-yard pass to Emeka Egbuka on a third-and-19 that positioned the Buckeyes at the Irish's 1-yard line, allowing running back Chip Trayanum to dip into the end zone on the following play. Making only his fifth career start in South Bend, McCord drew praise for his composure in the difficult circumstances.
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As Day evaluated McCord on Sunday, he said that "there were a lot of really good things" he showed in 2023.
“Kyle got better as the season went on,” Day added. “He had a little bit of those ankle injuries that he worked through. He showed toughness there. Certainly in the Notre Dame game, he played really well down the stretch, so I think there was growth there, for sure. I think he's a good quarterback. I do.
“After every year, you evaluate everything, and we'll try to figure out what to do next, but I think there was a lot of progress made this year.”
McCord had long figured into Day’s plans at quarterback. He committed to the Buckeyes in April 2019 as he was finishing his sophomore year at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia.
Day had offered a scholarship to McCord over J.J. McCarthy, another heralded passing prospect in the 2021 class who ultimately signed with Michigan and led the Wolverines in their last two wins over Ohio State.
The recruiting pedigree for McCord, a New Jersey native, was high. He was a five-star, the No. 28 overall prospect in his class, according to the composite rankings compiled by 247Sports, and his father, Derek, was a quarterback at Rutgers from 1988-92.
After enrolling in 2021, McCord spent two seasons as the backup behind Stroud as he waited for the opportunity to succeed him as the starter as a junior.
It materialized in September, but lasted only a span of 12 games.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him onFacebook andX, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He can also be contacted atjkaufman@dispatch.com.