Ohio State chose to move on from Kyle McCord and the decision turned out to be the right one. The Buckeyes won the national championship behind Will Howard at QB. But McCord proved to be everything and more for Syracuse, who won 10 games and had one of its most enjoyable seasons in decades.
Before the season began however, McCord wasn’t getting nearly the respect he deserved. An opposing ACC assistant coach spoke to Athlon Sports in the College Football Preview guide. The “Scouting the Orange” blurb has this gem.
“[Kelly] McCord is a better quarterback than they’ve had in years; the question is if the OL can keep him in tact.”
Now, in a case like this the assistant coach likely only used McCord’s last name and the writer or editor added “Kelly” here. So we can’t blast the assistant coach for not knowing McCord’s first name. But we can ask how it’s possible a college football writer can miss this badly.
McCord was the starting quarterback for one of the premier programs in the nation. His move to Syracuse marked one of the most substantial transfers of the offseason. While SU came into the year under the radar, McCord didn’t. Not knowing his first name is pretty crazy.
Could you imagine Athlon calling out Carter Beck at Georgia, Devin Gabriel of Oregon or Alabama’s Justin Milroe? Ultimately, McCord got the last laugh. He threw for 4,800 yards and 34 touchdowns for the Orange, leading a renaissance in football interest on campus. Kyle or Kelly, he’ll always have a spot in the pantheon of SU’s best seasons of quarterbacking. And now he lands in an NFL Draft that just may end up being a very beneficial one for the next chapter of his career.
