'It's a Business': Kyle McCord Explains Transfer To Syracuse

Kyle McCord said that the media outrage certainly played a role in his departure from the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord called his transfer to Syracuse a "business decision." Nothing more, nothing less.

"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."

McCord, who started all 12 regular season games for the Buckeyes, wasn't promised the title of QB1 entering 2024 following the loss to Michigan in Week 13. Even if McCord won the starting job over a transfer or Devin Brown, the redshirt sophomore wanted assurance from Ryan Day that he'd enter the season as the man with no questions asked. 

After announcing that Ohio State would play in the Cotton Bowl, reporters was asked if McCord would remain the starter for next season. Day was non-committal toward the passer that led the Buckeyes to an 11-1 finish and New Year's Six Bowl bid. 

Ohio State QB Kyle McCord takes advice from Buckeyes coach Ryan Day.  / USA Today-Sports

"I think he’s a good quarterback — I do," Day said last month. "You just, after every year, you kind of evaluate everything and try to figure out what to do next. But I think there was a lot of progress made this year.”

In his lone season as the Buckeyes starter, McCord completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns against six interceptions. He is expected to be the Day 1 starter for the Orange following the hiring of Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown. 

McCord mentioned that while the decision to transfer was best for his future, he was far from happy with how some reporters treated the situation following The Game in Ann Arbor. McCord threw two interceptions, including one on the final drive to seal the victory and help Michigan pick up its first Big Ten Title in as many seasons. 

"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," McCord said on the podcast. "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. 

"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.”

The Buckeyes have questions at quarterback following a 14-3 loss to No. 9 Missouri in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Brown suffered a high ankle injury that sidelined him for most of the game. Freshman Lincoln Kienholz struggled to find a rhythm, throwing for 86 yards while coughing up a fumble. 

Ohio State is expected to visit with former Kansas State QB Will Howard for a potential transfer later this week. The Buckeyes also added four-star passer Air Noland, but he's expected to compete for starting reps in 2025. 

McCord said he was still thankful for his time in Columbus, mentioning how he learned from C.J. Stroud both with on-the-field play and how to handle criticism online. Stroud, who led the Buckeyes to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2022 but never defeated the Wolverines, dealt with countless criticism and naysayers believing he was the problem. 

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At the next level, the No. 2 pick and two-time Heisman finalist is the favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year while potentially leading the Texans to their first playoff appearance in four seasons. 

"He said, 'Regardless if you are good, bad or indifferent, people are going to have something to say,'" McCord said of Stroud. "So this year, I think I have done a good job of just blocking it all out and understanding it's part of the position, especially at a school like that. There's going to be a lot of noise. A lot of the time, you just kind of let it roll off your back, and, like I said, I think the truth will work out."