Just a few hours before Kyle McCord was set to take the field for day one of the Elite 11 competition on Monday, he told Eleven Warriors that he was “just looking forward to compete and get better” and that he was “trying to soak up all of the knowledge being passed around here.”
On Tuesday night, the five-star Ohio State quarterback commit took it a big step further.
McCord won the Elite 11 Pro Day competition on day two of the three-day event in Nashville, scoring a total of 45 points. Drake Maye, a North Carolina commit, finished second with 40 points.
Big-time performances tonight at the Pro Day workout of the #Elite11 Finals are led by Ohio State commit Kyle McCord out of St. Josephs (Pa.) pic.twitter.com/oLH3Ws7Mgl
— Brian Stumpf (@Stumpf_Brian) July 1, 2020
Tuesday's competition was a simulated pro day in which quarterbacks receive a score of 0, 1, 2 or 3 on each of their 19 throws depending on where the pass ends up.
A breakdown of the scores:
- 3: Hit them in the face
- 2: Hit them in the body
- 1: Took the receiver a lot of effort
- 0: A miss
On at least five of his final eight throws, McCord recorded a 3.
Via @Elite11 Instagram live stream, here are Kyle McCord's final two throws at the Pro Day Competition. He's currently the leader in the clubhouse with 45 points.
— Zack Carpenter (@Zack_Carp) July 1, 2020
Ohio State 2020 signee CJ Stroud won the competition last year with 50 points en route to winning Elite 11 MVP. pic.twitter.com/5mZuYEmMlk
“Long time coming. Felt awesome,” McCord said on Elite 11's live stream on Instagram. “I've been preparing for it for a few months now. Just excited to come out here and ripped it pretty well.”
One of the highlight throws of the night for McCord came when he ducked under a simulated pass rusher and dropped an on-the-run dime from about 45 yards out into his receiver's hands.
Kyle McCord (@kylemccord16) with the strongest Pro Day performance so far through 5 QBs on the money for a majority of his 19 throws including this dime #Elite11 @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/OdLW7tV4DL
— Ronny Torres (@RonnyTorresSS) July 1, 2020
In April, McCord told Eleven Warriors that working with former NFL quarterback Phil Simms and Simms' son in the offseason had “taken my game to the next level.”
That included increased focus on “throwing from off-balance platforms, throwing on the run, moving in the pocket – all of that, they have helped me with. It’s been huge,” McCord said.
Apparently, that extra work looks to have helped McCord on Tuesday, as he bounced back from what was reportedly an up-and-down performance during day one of the competition on Monday.
McCord entered the Pro Day Competition ranked No. 8 in a rankings list set by the Elite 11 coaching staff – rankings that were based on 50 percent film/performance and 50 percent camp evaluations and an assessment of traits.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound signal-caller, however, outshined that ranking, coming within five points of the all-time Elite 11 Pro Day record holder – Ohio State 2020 signee C.J. Stroud, who scored 50 points at the 2019 event en route to the Elite 11 MVP award that skyrocketed his recruitment.
McCord is looking to become the third Ohio State quarterback to win the Elite 11 MVP honor in the past four years, which would follow in the footsteps of Justin Fields (2017) and Stroud.
