Ohio State QB Kyle McCord, a St. Joseph’s Prep grad, enters the transfer portal
McCord will leave the Buckeyes after three years with the program.
Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal on Monday. A former star at St. Joseph’s Prep, McCord played for the Buckeyes for three seasons, including one as starting quarterback.
McCord threw for 3,170 yards with 24 touchdown passes and six interceptions in his first year as a starter, leading Ohio State to an 11-1 record. But two of his interceptions came in a 30-24 loss in “The Game” vs. Michigan, which ultimately left Ohio State outside the College Football Playoff picture.
Coach Ryan Day, who recruited the former five-star recruit to the Buckeyes, was noncommittal about McCord’s future as the starting quarterback when speaking to the media on Sunday.
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“When you come up short, the bottom line is you’ve got to look at everything, because you didn’t get it done. And that’s the thing that is just sobering here,” Day said in a news conference. “At 11-1, you come up short on the last possession, it’s just not good enough. So you’ve got to look at everything, and we will look at everything.”
McCord’s signature moment with Ohio State was his game-winning drive against Notre Dame, which gave the Buckeyes a 17-14 victory in the final seconds against the then-top five Irish.
“As time went on, Kyle got better as the season went on,” Day said Sunday. “Had a little bit of those ankle injuries that he worked through; he showed toughness there. Certainly the Notre Dame game, he played really well down the stretch. So I think there was growth there, for sure, and I think he’s a good quarterback, I do. After every year, you evaluate everything and try to figure out what to do next. But I think there was a lot of progress made this year.”
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McCord, who attended St. Joe’s Prep alongside Ohio State teammate Marvin Harrison Jr., set a record at the Prep for single-season passing yards with 2,883 in 2018, and he finished his high school career with a Catholic League-record 6,887 passing yards. He will have two years of college eligibility remaining.
The Buckeyes will play in the Cotton Bowl against Missouri after missing out on the College Football Playoff.