Ryan Day shares why Kyle McCord opted not to enter transfer portal

After going into last season with questions at quarterback, Ohio State and Ryan Day return two experienced quarterbacks now with CJ Stroud starting and Kyle McCord at backup. Despite knowing that he would likely not win the job against his teammate, McCord did not enter the transfer portal like Jack Miller and Quinn Ewers, opting to continue his journey with the Buckeyes.

During a press conference, Ryan Day addressed why Kyle McCord opted to stay at Ohio State as a backup quarterback and why that could benefit him.

“I think he’s had a good spring,” said Day. “You guys were out there, you saw some of the balls that he threw. Having a whole year under his belt now, he’s that much better. He’s competitive, he wants to be at Ohio State, he’s made that clear to us.

“He’s going to be ready in that first game if he needs to be in that game. That’ the thing, when you feel like you’re the backup, sometimes you feel like you’re miles away but you’re only one snap away. I think he understands that. He understands what it means to get developed. And I think that’s what his focus has been on.”

In his freshman season, McCord saw time in five games. He threw for 416 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 65.8 percent of his passes. After winning the starting job, Stroud established himself as a potential top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft which could leave the job open again after the season.

Ryan Day on JT Tuimoloau

As Ohio State defensive lineman JT Tuimoloau enters his second year in the Buckeyes program, he is gaining some valuable experience during the spring. Day recently touched on Tuimoloau not having the spring to prepare last season, which illustrates how talented and competitive he is to have still been ready to contribute right away as a freshman.

“Well he didn’t have a whole offseason, he didn’t even have a summer,” Day said of Tuimoloau’s introduction to Ohio State last season. “That’s probably one of the more unique ones we’ve had, although we’ve had a few in the last couple years. But he got here a week before training camp. That was one of the concerns we shared with his family, was that if you show up at the end of July, you’re not gonna have a lot of time to prepare to get on the field. All you’re gonna have is August and that’s really hard. To his credit, he got on the field and played despite not having that lead up time, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.”