Kyle McCord transferred to Syracuse after leading Ohio State to an 11-1 regular season. It was a decision that came as a surprise to most and sent ripples across the sport.
However, those with knowledge of the quarterback position in Columbus and Ryan Day’s opinion of McCord saw it coming. To some extent, at least.
The Buckeyes and their head coach were unwilling to commit to the former four-star recruit despite his status as the incumbent starter who won 11 games. They were pursuing multiple transfers.
McCord finally broke his silence on the move during a recent appearance on The QB Room podcast. He called it a “business decision.”
College football has never been an amateur sport. That is the case today more than ever with NIL.
A level-headed McCord understands that reality and said that his entry into the transfer portal was something of a mutual parting of ways. Ohio State wouldn’t make him any promises so he owned them nothing and had to take his own future into account.
You guys know it just as well as I do, at the end of the day, the top level of college football and then especially onto the pros— it’s a business. At the end of the day, Ohio State had to make a business decision that they felt was best for them and I had to do the same thing.
— Kyle McCord, via The QB Room
McCord has one year of eligibility remaining and will serve as the starting quarterback for Syracuse next season before heading off to the NFL. Although his time in Columbus is behind him, he remains frustrated with how things ended. Especially in regard to his treatment by the local media.
I didn’t really say too much. After I left, I kind of put out my statement and kept the reasons close, kind of in my inner circle. And I’ve had news outlets hit me up. I got one – a news outlet from Columbus – that hit me up to do a story and I didn’t answer it. Hit my family up to do a story, they didn’t answer. Hit people up in my circle to do a story, nobody answered. And then the next day, you go online, and they have an article published of the five reasons I left.
— Kyle McCord, via The QB Room
There was no mention of the specific outlet that left McCord with a sour taste in his mouth. However, deductive reasoning would suggest that it was a report from the Columbus Dispatch.
Whomever it was, Kyle McCord and his family were displeased with the made-up narrative.
And you read them and it’s just a bunch of BS. They’re just kind of pulling at strings at that point. The narrative, people read that and they think that’s true and so they start believing in it and posting it and it just kind of snowballs. And when you don’t really speak up about it, it is what it is.
— Kyle McCord, via The QB Room
Now that the former Buckeyes signal-caller has aired his grievances, he is moving on. The focus is on leading the Orange to new heights during his lone season in upstate New York.
All of the hate that he received over his decision to leave Ohio State will fuel his fire. It’s motivation.
McCord and Day did not see eye-to-eye. The latter would not give the former what he expected after winning 11 games as the starting quarterback. They both moved on. End of story!