Kyle McCord is describing his departure from Ohio State as a “business decision.”
The former Ohio State quarterback began his appearance on Wednesday’s episode of “The QB Room,” a podcast hosted by current NFL quarterback Kyle Allen and former NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer, by talking about the decision he made last month to leave Ohio State and transfer to Syracuse.
“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,” McCord said. “And unfortunately it just wasn’t meant to be for next year. But at the end of the day, I felt like I put together some solid games, had some good tape, so I was confident when I went in the portal, I would find a good home.”
McCord, who has one remaining season of collegiate eligibility, did not specify what he meant by saying Ohio State made a business decision and why he made his own business decision.
A report from The Columbus Dispatch last month indicated that Ohio State wanted McCord to return for his senior season but declined to commit to McCord being the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback in 2024. That report also indicated that McCord wanted more NIL money and that “OSU was not willing to facilitate that.” McCord seemingly disputed that report when asked about the narratives surrounding his departure.
“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,” McCord said. “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.”
Asked before the Cotton Bowl about McCord’s exit from the program, Ryan Day said he did not want to discuss the specifics of his conversations with McCord, though he said he expects McCord to be successful at his next stop.
“I think Kyle was very well-respected here. We wish him nothing but the best,” Day said Dec. 20. “He played some good football here and spent three years here and made a lot of relationships here. And I think he's committed to another school now, and he'll do well there, he will. So I don't think it's worth getting into all (of why McCord left) right now, but certainly wish him nothing but the best of luck. There’s a lot of guys in that room who care about him a lot.”
McCord said his decision to transfer to Syracuse was driven by his relationship with the Orange’s new coaching staff, as he has longstanding relationships with Syracuse head coach Fran Brown, offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon and quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile.
“Coach Fran Brown, I’ve known him since I was in middle school,” McCord said. “I played football in South Jersey, and he’s a South Jersey guy. So he was at Temple, so he was always local, and he told me when I was in like 7th grade, I think he was like, ‘You’re gonna be special, man. Wherever I am, I want to be your coach.’
“And then Coach Nixon, who’s the offensive coordinator, he was in Philly with the Eagles when I was growing up, and I played youth football with his son. I was the quarterback, his son was the running back. So I’ve known Coach Nixon since I was 5 or 6 years old. And he recruited me when he was at Baylor, and obviously it didn’t work out, I went to Ohio State.
“And then the quarterback coach, Coach Nunzio Campanile, who was the head coach at Bergen Catholic up in North Jersey, wanted me to come up. He was on me in like 7th and 8th grade saying you could come up and go to school up there and he wanted me bad, but obviously I stayed in Philly. So kind of the three coaches that I’ll be working with there, I’ve known them for five, six, seven years and I’ve known Coach Nixon pretty much my whole entire life.”
That said, McCord acknowledged that NIL was part of the recruiting process once he entered the portal.
“Schools know they have X amount of money and they have to distribute it accordingly. Each guy feels like they have a certain value and they set themselves at that value and I think a lot of it is weighing the pros and cons,” McCord said. “But I mean, it’s crazy. I talked to some of my guys from Ohio State, and hearing the numbers they’re getting from schools. And they’re trying to compare and ‘OK, I know I can get on the field here, but the money’s not as good as it is here.’ I think it’s nuts with NIL and the way things are right now, it’s free agency.”
“At the end of the day, Ohio State had to make a business decision that they felt like was best for them, and I had to do the same thing.”– Kyle McCord on his exit from Ohio State
Asked if Syracuse’s favorable 2024 schedule played a part in his decision, McCord said he felt like he would have an opportunity to win by transferring there.
“Yeah, I mean, they said, with the guys that they’re gonna bring in, some of the guys they’ve got coming back, we’re gonna be able to make a serious run at it. And their recruiting pitch was, ‘Listen, we’re a quarterback away from being a serious contender in the ACC this year,’” McCord said. “And I looked at the schedule, and I saw it and I think it’s true. I think there’s definitely an opportunity for us to go out there and win some games.”
McCord indicated that he is attempting to recruit some of the Ohio State players who are currently in the portal to join him at Syracuse. Asked if there would be an over/under of 0.5 former Ohio State receivers on Syracuse’s roster next year, McCord replied, “I’m gonna say more.”
“It’s definitely been one of the perks to finding a school early on is there’s still a lot of talent in the portal. And they’re reaching out, Syracuse is, and saying, ‘If you know any guys that can play some ball, get after them,’” McCord said. “And so Ohio State has a few guys in the portal that I’m going after now, and a few of my friends that I played 7-on-7 with kind of growing up are in the portal now, so I’m doing my best recruiting to get guys there and kind of build this team up.”
Two former Ohio State receivers are currently in the portal as Noah Rogers and Bryson Rodgers both entered the portal on Sunday.
Near the end of the podcast, McCord was asked to spend two minutes outlining his journey from when he started playing football to where he is now. As he talked about his three years at Ohio State, McCord indicated that he didn’t regret his years as a Buckeye despite his decision to play his senior season elsewhere.
“Coach Day got the job in 2019 and a few days later he offered me. And I went out to the spring game and he told me he wanted me to commit and it was love at first sight and I committed and stood true to my word the entire time I was in high school and I ended up going to college with one of my best friends from high school, which was Marvin (Harrison Jr.),” McCord said.
“And then got to college and was in a QB room with C.J. Stroud and Quinn Ewers, probably one of the most loaded QB rooms in college football history and didn’t really know how it was gonna shake out. A lot of people are saying ‘You should leave, go somewhere where you’re gonna have a chance to play, you’re never gonna play here.’ And I stuck it out. And ultimately everything kind of just played itself out. I got to learn behind C.J. for two years, which was phenomenal, picking his brain every day. And then got the opportunity to play this year, and obviously like we talked about throughout the show, a lot of highs and lows, good and bad, and just learning everything that comes with it. And then made the decision to leave and now I’m at Syracuse with an opportunity to do everything that I want in front of me.”
