Making case for Kyle McCord to be Buckeyes starting quarterback
The summer offseason is in full swing, and Lettermen Row is trying to survive it with our annual Position Week breakdowns. By the time all nine units and coaching staff at Ohio State have been covered, training camp and media days will nearly have arrived, and the return of football in the Horseshoe will be just around the corner. We’re kicking off our positional weeks with the most important position on the field: quarterbacks.
COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Ryan Day wanted to have his quarterback battle wrapped up before spring ball ended on April 15.
And although Day and his coaching staff weren’t comfortable enough to crown a starting signal-caller before summer workouts started, there is a leader in the competition: third-year quarterback Kyle McCord.
Lettermen Row is in the middle of Quarterback Week, where we dive into the position group and examine every angle. We’re continuing it by making the case for McCord, a former five-star recruit, to beat out second-year quarterback Devin Brown in the ongoing battle to replace C.J. Stroud.
Check back Wednesday as we make the case for Brown to win the job.
For now, let’s dive in on why it’s McCord’s spot to lose:
Kyle McCord has experience as Ohio State quarterback
It’s easy to forget that Kyle McCord started a game as a true freshman for Ohio State two years ago. McCord didn’t break records in his lone start, but he did manage the game and do some impressive things, especially in his first career action for the Buckeyes.
One single start against Akron two years ago doesn’t tell the entire story of McCord’s experience, however. He has been in the Buckeyes system for three springs and two seasons. He knows the offense and can elevate players around him.
But the start certainly doesn’t hurt.
“I think just getting a start, it’s obviously a lot different than practice,” he said in spring ball. “You can prepare for the looks you think you’re going to get based on film, you can prepare for different defenses, but at the end of the day, when the ball is put down and you’re in there, you’re going to have to deal with some stuff on the fly. So just getting that experience was good. You know, making some good plays, making some bad plays and learning from it, I think, really helped me, especially at that point. So early in my career, I think it was very important experience to get.”
Now with a chance to be the starter on a permanent basis without C.J. Stroud in front of him, Kyle McCord can take all of the reps earned in practice, in garbage time of blowouts and, of course, that start — and use it to his advantage to win the job.
Kyle McCord has shown leadership qualities needed of Buckeyes starter
Even from the first spring he was on campus, Kyle McCord was already beginning to flash leadership traits needed from the quarterback position at Ohio State. McCord, of course, couldn’t become the leader of the Buckeyes locker room with C.J. Stroud in front of him on the depth chart at quarterback.
That didn’t mean McCord wasn’t prepping to take over the reigns as the face of the program. He simply had to wait his turn. It’s here.
McCord knows that. He must now officially become the leader of the offense — and, as a result of being the potential starting quarterback, the program.
“When C.J. was here, you don’t want to step on his toes or anything like that, because he was obviously the clear, defined leader of the team,” McCord said. “He was the voice of the team. But now that he’s gone, naturally, opportunities to step up, lead and speak, things like that came. So it was good.
“Definitely something I was trying to be a little conscious of early on in the winter, and then over time it just became second nature.”
Ohio State needs its quarterback to be the clear-cut leader for the program. Kyle McCord is building toward becoming just that.
Kyle McCord can make necessary plays
The experience and leadership are meaningful, yes. But those mean nothing if McCord wasn’t a playmaker with the ball. He wouldn’t be in this position, in line to become the starter for one of the best programs in the country, without an ability to create.
McCord can make nearly every throw Ryan Day asks of his quarterbacks. He’ll have some of the best wide receivers, running backs and tight ends to spread the football around to. He even has his high school teammate as the best receiver in college football. As long as McCord shows that he can utilize all of those weapons around him — and elevate them when he needs to — he will win the starting quarterback job.
That’s the challenge ahead: being able to do that.
“At the end of the day, it’s our job as quarterbacks to lead the team and drive the team down the field and score touchdowns,” Ryan Day said in spring ball. “And being that leader is critically important. I feel like we’re going to have a great supporting cast. So the quarterback doesn’t need to be superhuman. He just needs to do his job, make routine plays routinely. And then it’ll build from there. But the number one thing we’re looking for is leadership and toughness.”
Kyle McCord has repeatedly showed all of those qualities, and he still has time to prove even more to the Buckeyes coaching staff. If he does, he’ll be QB1 at Ohio State.
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