After two years of sitting behind C.J. Stroud, Kyle McCord is going to get his chance to lead Ohio State’s offense.
When Ryan Day named McCord as Ohio State’s starting quarterback on Tuesday, his former high school coaches were filled with elation, then immediately reached out and congratulated him.
Ahead of his first start of the 2023 season and second career college start, Eleven Warriors caught up with St. Joseph’s Preparatory School head coach Tim Roken and offensive coordinator Tom Sugden to learn more about what their former pupil can bring to Ohio State’s offense when he takes the field against Indiana on Saturday. Both discussed McCord’s demeanor, how he could handle splitting reps with Devin Brown, his relationship with fellow St. Joseph’s Prep alumnus Marvin Harrison Jr. and more.
Some questions and answers have been edited for length/clarity.
How thrilled were you for Kyle once Ryan Day officially named him the starter on Tuesday?
Tom Sugden: Aw man, just elated. We know how hard he’s worked, not just this year, but an accumulation of years of work and dedication. Any time one of your kids has the work ethic and goes all in trying to achieve a goal, you’re just going to be proud and happy for him. At the same time, I texted him and said ‘Hey, congrats, I’m proud of you. But now the work begins, right?’ This was all just to have an opportunity. Now, what are you going to do with that opportunity? You need to make the most of it. I told him to let it rip.
Tim Roken: I was so excited for him and his family. He has this great opportunity to lead Ohio State into this season. He’s worked very hard and sat and waited, which is not a very common thing in today’s world. This is the place he’s wanted to be from the beginning and he’s worked very hard to get this opportunity. I’m excited for him to go out and lead the way. We exchanged a few texts (after getting named the starter), I’ll give him a call the night before just to talk him through it. He’s an extension of our family here, and we’re really excited for both him and Marvin Harrison Jr.
What do you expect to see from him as a college starter going forward?
Sugden: I expect to see Kyle McCord, who he’s been since he was in fifth grade. He’s going to go out there, run the offense, take what the defense gives him and push the ball down the field. He’ll get the ball to his playmakers and I expect him to rip it up, man. I really do. I have all the confidence in the world in him. I think one of both the hardest and the best things for him was to sit behind a Heisman finalist in C.J. Stroud. He got to learn from him and see how he operates and take a step back, because he had been the guy for so long. Having that experience and figuring out how much football means to him, I think it’s all going to pay off, and I think Ohio State fans are going to be really happy.
Roken: I think he’ll continue to develop. Ohio State under coach Day, that’s what he does best is develop quarterbacks at the highest level. I think he had a great foundation here but one thing that never changed for him is his work ethic and his determination to be great. The things he does when nobody is watching is what separates both him and Marvin from others. The one thing for him as a quarterback, he’s always been calm, cool and collected in high-profile situations. In the bright lights and big stage, he doesn’t blink. I’m excited for him to go in there with ice in his veins and not blink.
Obviously, you saw the high school connection of Kyle McCord to Marvin Harrison Jr. firsthand. How special will it be for you to see that play out at the college level as well?
Sugden: You know, I’m so excited to see those guys back in action. They have such a chemistry that I’ve never seen before. The way they could look at each other, we’d be on the field and see how they’d look at each other and realize they just told each other something. I don’t know what the hell they said as a coach, you know what I mean? They’re doing backside hand signals, they have their own look to everything. Kyle always has a way of knowing where Marv is going to be and a way of finding him in those big-time situations. I’ve never had a quarterback/wide receiver duo play together in college at any level, so we’re excited to see that come to fruition. Those guys are best of friends, and it’s not just a business relationship. It’s personal, and for that to have that happen all over again is special.
Roken: I’m sure it’ll be similar in a lot of ways. The way their system is built, they have a lot of talent around them. He’s got a great offensive line in front of him, so he has to work through the offense and then I’m sure that connection will be over the loudspeaker a bunch of times this year.
I’m not sure what experience you have with this from your coaching tenure or how you’ve seen this play out with other schools, but how difficult can it be for a quarterback to find rhythm if he’s not the only quarterback playing, which he won’t be since Devin Brown is going to get snaps too?
Sugden: You know, I think what it comes down to is you control what you can control. I think Kyle is very systematic in his approach and has a very professional demeanor. He understands he’s not really competing against Devin. I know everybody wants to make this whole thing out, but Kyle is competing against himself and he has to be the best version of himself. If he handles his business, everything will work out for him.
Devin is a great quarterback and he’s going to have a lot of success too. At the end of the day, Kyle needs to go out there with his reps and run Ohio State’s offense to coach Day’s expectations. If he does that and moves the offense by getting it into his playmaker’s hands, everything is going to work out for him. If you’re looking behind you, you can’t see what’s happening in front of you. And I don’t think Kyle lives his life that way. He’s more worried about taking care of his business.
Roken: I think it’s making the most of your opportunities. They both have had to share reps throughout the offseason and throughout the spring and summer. However it pans out, it’s just about him making the most of his opportunities on the field.
Taking a step back, when was the first time you knew he was going to be an elite recruit one day?
Sugden: His freshman year. He threw from the opposite hash and roped an 18-yard out on a laser. He looked like a baby, he looked like Gumby at 14 years old, all arms and legs and baby-faced as hell. But his arm strength and accuracy have been elite for a long time. You can tell the way the ball came off his fingers, you’ve been around the game right, just seeing how different he looks you’re like ‘Woah.’ The kid’s had it for a minute, he got offers in the eighth grade for a reason because of that arm. Now it’s time to cash in on it.
Roken: I think in the beginning you saw his work ethic and his determination to be great. You already knew he had intangibles but he set himself apart because he wanted to work, was very coachable and wanted to learn and be the best he could be along with making the people around him better as well. I think he grew here as a young man and rose to the top in terms of being a leader for us for three straight years. He understood going to the next level he had to develop and work. It’s been exciting to watch him and obviously we’re very excited for this opportunity he has in front of him.
When we’ve had the chance to talk to him, I’ve gotten the impression Kyle has the stoic, lead-by-example type of demeanor. Is that the way he’s always been?
Sugden: I think he wears a lot of different hats. Around friends and family in that setting, he can cut it up with the best of them. He definitely has a jokester side and a goofy side. But what Kyle has is a high level of emotional intelligence. So he really knows what part to play in the right settings. There’s a time and place when you have to know when to cut a joke, when to lock in and when to be accountable. Kyle has always had that cool demeanor about him though where he was going to be the general, he was going to lead the charge and set the standard for the culture. He’s got a little more personality than I think he lets on.
Roken: Calm, cool and collected. He doesn’t get too high on the highs, not too low on the lows. He understands that when things go wrong, people are going to look at him. He’s got to be able to reset the deck and settle everybody down. Because every time he steps onto that field, he’s got a great opportunity with all the talent around him.
Off the top of your head, what’s the best play you remember him making in high school?
Sugden: I believe it was against Good Counsel in Maryland. He gets flushed to his right and had to spin back around, gets pushed all the way to the right hash, spins back around to the left hash, makes it to the numbers, he’s falling off his back foot and throws a 60-yard bomb to Marvin. Marvin goes up, climbs the ladder and catches it and plucks it out of the air. That’s the play that really stands out. A lot of people call him not a runner or things like that, I think he has great pocket awareness and escapability. He might not run down the field on you, but he can extend plays.
One of his greatest attributes is scramble drill, where the quarterback breaks out of the pocket and the wide receivers have to readjust their routes to the quarterback. I’m excited for people to see it because I feel like a lot of lazy articles will say ‘Oh yeah, he’s not a runner, he can’t do this, he’s not athletic.’ Well, he’s not winning a 40-yard dash type of fast, but he plays well in the pocket and has a great feel for the pocket and his escapability is pretty special. There’s a lot of plays I remember him moving out of the pocket, extending plays and hitting receivers and getting us out of trouble. I’m excited for Ohio State fans to see that and probably kill some of the lesser-value blogs out there.
Roken: That’s a tough one, he’s had a lot of good ones. I’d say his sophomore year we were playing at Rutgers against St. Peter’s. We had to put a drive together and score, and also get the two-point conversion. He had a blitzer coming off the edge, he stood in the pocket and delivered the pass. He was able to win that game for us at the end of the game, it was a huge play.
What advice would you give him as he heads into his first start of the year on Saturday?
Sugden: Enjoy the moment and make the most out of your opportunity. It’s time to cash in on everything that you’ve invested in yourself. And don’t be satisfied. It’s not enough to be named a starter, there’s a guy behind you, and there’s always going to be a guy behind you. Go out there and do your thing.
Roken: I think I’ll just tell him to be himself. He’s earned the opportunity that he has in front of him. The objective is to lead his team to a victory. When he goes out there, he’ll take a deep breath and know that he has the support of his team and his coaches. Just be himself, don’t try and do too much, don’t try and do something that’s out of the scheme and trust in the coaches and his technique and let things develop. The objective is to move the sticks and put points on the board.
