St. Joseph’s Prep quarterback Kyle McCord commits to Ohio State

Kyle McCord, a sophomore quarterback at St. Joseph’s Prep, announced Tuesday that he is committing to Ohio State.

McCord is ranked as the No. 5 player in Pennsylvania for the Class of 2021 (just behind teammate Marvin Harrison Jr.) by 247 Sports, and the eighth-best pro-style quarterback in his class in the country. He’s a four-star recruit, according to the service.

His final schools were Ohio State, Texas A&M, Penn State, Mississippi State, and Michigan State, among others.

“I wanted to play for a staff that wanted me — and Ohio State recruited me the hardest — and a coaching staff that would prepare me for the next level and help me achieve my ultimate goal of reaching the NFL" McCord said Tuesday night. “It’s a school that competes for the national championship every year. Ohio State checked the boxes.”

McCord, the first-team quarterback on The Inquirer’s 2018 all-Southeastern Pennsylvania football team, had offers from nearly two dozen schools. He received his first offer before taking a high school snap, capturing Central Michigan’s eye in June 2017.

Players aren’t allowed to take official visits to schools until their junior year, so McCord hasn’t taken any. But he’s been to Ohio State on unofficial visits twice, and the second one during the Buckeyes’ spring game on April 13 was enough to sell him on the school.

“I thought that weekend solidified Ohio State to me,” McCord said. “Everything i was looking for, I found it in Ohio State. Seeing that on my visit was the biggest thing that led me to committing.”

McCord, a 6-foot-3, 195-pounder, helped the Hawks claim their fifth Philadelphia Catholic League title in six years and fourth PIAA title during the same span. He led the city in nearly every statistical passing category.

Playing last season alongside Harrison, he hasn’t wasted time trying to prolong the years the two spend finding each other on the field.

“I’ve obviously been on Marvin for a while,” McCord said. “I’m not going to pressure him to go to a school that’s not the best fit for him, but I want to play with him for three, four or five extra years. I could get used to that. I want to recruit the kids I wanna play with that are priority offers for Ohio State.”

He led the city with 2,883 passing yards, 35 touchdown passes, an average of 206 passing yards per game, 302 attempts, 201 completions and completed 67 percent of his passes (minimum 75 passes). Statistically, McCord’s most productive game came against Maryland’s Our Lady of Good Counsel, which he scorched for 369 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-38 passing (68 percent).

McCord led St. Joe’s Prep to a 13-0 record in his first year as a starter. He threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns in the championship game against Harrisburg. He was named Catholic League Red Division MVP, and the Pennsylvania Football Writers named him the Class 6A player of the year.