Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord made his first appearance in a Syracuse uniform over the weekend. McCord played in SU’s spring football game in front of a record 16,579 fans on Saturday. It was a chance for Orange fans to see McCord and head coach Fran Brown’s team in action for the first time.
McCord didn’t disappoint. The 6-foot-3 quarterback completed 18 of 28 passes and threw for 242 yards and a touchdown in just one half. That’s right. One half.
His touchdown came on a 38-yard strike down the right sideline to Georgia transfer wide receiver Zeed Haynes.
McCord brings a sense of consistency at the quarterback position that has been missing for quite some time in the Dome. Syracuse fans were always fond of Garrett Shrader because of the pride and grit he brought day in and day out in an attempt to win games, but McCord is a next-level talent.
Shrader was more than serviceable. He pulled Syracuse into the AP top-25 in 2022 after a 6-0 start, and also was a part of SU’s 4-0 start last season. However, he couldn’t quite put the Orange over that next hump at quarterback. Shrader accounted for multiple errant interceptions and errors, but the positives outweigh the negatives, by far.
So here we are; Shrader is done, and SU fans get to enjoy McCord’s presence due to a transfer from Ohio State in mid-December.
McCord has prior experience that Syracuse hasn’t seen in a long time. He started during his junior season as a Buckeye, throwing 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
McCord’s last official game was a loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor last year. Talk about experience, well that’s about as experiential and challenging as it gets in college football. He threw for 271 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Syracuse is looking bright, especially after McCord’s performance over the weekend.
