In a surprise move earlier this month, Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord opted to enter the NCAA football transfer portal.
McCord and the Buckeyes won their first 11 games before losing to the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 25. The defeat knocked Ohio State out of the College Football Playoffs, and they’ll wrap up their season against No. 9 ranked Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
According to a report from Bill Rabinowitz of The Columbus Dispatch, McCord’s decision to leave Ohio State stems from the fact that head coach Ryan Day wouldn’t guarantee him the starting job for 2024:
“The decision to leave was McCord’s. Ohio State wanted him to return for his senior season, sources told The Dispatch. He would have been the front-runner to start again in 2024.
But McCord wanted Day’s assurance that he would be the starter. Day declined to commit to that…Part of it also is that it’s simply anathema for coaches to guarantee anyone a starting job. Sometimes, though, such assurance doesn’t need to be said. Nobody questioned whether C.J. Stroud would again be the starter in 2022.”
On top of that, Rabinowitz added that the university wasn’t willing to “facilitate” more money for McCord in NIL (name, likeness, image). With QB certainty and more money through NIL deals on the table, McCord decided to leave the Buckeyes.
The 21-year-old McCord has thrown for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns against six interceptions this season.
