Former Ohio State Buckeyes QB Claims Staff Forced Him to Enter Transfer Portal After Team Went in New Direction

McCord explained in a podcast that the Ohio State staff was moving one way, and because of that, he decided to go another way.

McCord explained his decision further in an article from the Columbus Dispatch back in January.

“At the end of the day, the top level of college football and then especially onto the pros, it’s a business,” McCord said on “The QB Room” podcast. “At the end of the day, Ohio State had to make a business decision they felt like was best for them. And I had to do the same thing.”

While McCord wasn’t explicitly told to enter the transfer portal, the message from the Ohio State staff was pretty clear. If McCord was a younger quarterback and the Buckeyes wanted to get an experienced guy from the transfer portal for a year that would be a different story.

Instead, McCord was entering his senior season. Looking for a new quarterback while the existing quarterback is entering their senior season is essentially telling him that his chances of playing meaningful football at any point for the rest of his career are slim.

Kyle McCord was a serviceable quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, but he couldn’t win the big one

While McCord provided quarterback play that many college football teams would’ve taken in a heartbeat, he was unable to win the game that is most important to the Ohio State Buckeyes. McCord was not able to lead them to a victory over their rival, the Michigan Wolverines.

McCord finished the season with 3,170 yards passing and 24 touchdowns on just six interceptions. He threw passes at a 65.8% completion rate.

McCord’s ability to get the ball to his playmakers while limiting turnovers is what had the Buckeyes undefeated going into Ann Arbor. It was his conservative style of play that caused the Buckeyes to fall just short in the final game of the regular season.

McCord showed promise early in the season despite not putting up gaudy numbers. His 3rd and 19 completion at the end of the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish led to a game-winning touchdown.

Ohio State Buckeyes fans chastised Kyle McCord for running away from competition

While the exact details of the process resulting in McCord entering the transfer portals are just a “he said-she said” situation at this point, many Ohio State fans still attack McCord because they believe he ran away from the competition.

McCord would’ve had the opportunity to compete for the starting job, but he is likely most familiar with his odds of actually being able to get the starting job. If he felt like the staff was moving in another direction, he would’ve torpedoed any chance of an NFL career by staying with the Buckeyes.

Many Ohio State fans claim that McCord wanted a guarantee that he would be the starter in 2024 and when head coach Ryan Day couldn’t promise that, he decided to enter the transfer portal. Regardless, McCord is now onto Syracuse to try to make the best of the remaining portion of his collegiate career.