What Kyle McCord's transfer means for the future of quarterback at Ohio State

Kyle McCord made waves with his decision to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday. And it alters how Ohio State can approach the quarterback position going forward.

In short: It puts Ryan Day in a bit of a lurch heading into what will be one of his most pivotal coaching seasons. On3’s Andy Staples and Letterman Row’s Spencer Holbrook unpacked the situation.

“You can look at it two ways: You can say the program’s in a little bit of disarray and maybe they’re at a crossroads here, or you can look at it and say Ryan Day’s not going to mess around anymore and he’s really going to be aggressive with the way he attacks this offseason, because Kyle McCord was good this year. He was not great, but he was very good. 3100 yards, 24 touchdowns, just six interceptions. The magical drive against Notre Dame. Coming up so close against Michigan, being 37 yards away from the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, when you put it that way, makes it kind of go into perspective a little bit,” Holbrook said.

“But, he didn’t feel comfortable enough to just completely say ‘Yeah, he’s our starter. Because we have to evaluate everything.’ He has said that, he said it on Sunday when we talked to him ad nauseam. You will evaluate everything when the season ends the way that it did. And that’s what they’re doing. They’re evaluating the roster, the coaching staff, the personnel decisions, their coaching decisions, their philosophies, they are in full evaluation mode right now to make sure that they are maximizing Ohio State.” 

In response to McCord’s departure, a QB is on the menu as Ohio State shops in the transfer portal. But Holbrook cautioned that it might not be in search of a new starter.

For one, plenty of the options in the portal might not fit quite right in Columbus in the pass-happy offense for the Buckeyes and may also not be so much better than the quarterbacks on campus. A quarterback would have to be pretty special or have a long runway of eligibility (or both) to come in as the immediate new starter with Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz, a redshirt freshman and true freshman, respectively, on campus still.

There is the possibility, Holbrook said, that the apparent opening to start for Ohio State could entice a quarterback to make a move and come take over the role.

But whatever the talent pool ends up looking like, Ohio State will be looking to add a new voice to the room, but perhaps a supremely experienced option like Tristan Gebbia, the 2022 transfer who served as a quasi-graduate assistant for the Buckeyes, if a top-shelf choice isn’t there.

“Is there somebody in the portal who is better than Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz and Air Noland, but also who is an upgrade from Kyle McCord. You can’t take a guy who’s basically the same as what you just had in Kyle McCord, because then you’re running it back in Year 1 with a guy that you could’ve ran it back in Year 2 with. That’s a big question for Ryan Day, who has to answer that in the most pivotal year of his coaching career: Is Devin Brown good enough? Is Lincoln Kienholz good enough? Is it OK to take this into the spring and then put it out there that you need a quarterback after the spring cycle and you can potentially get a guy to come in after the spring, or do you want to see what Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz can do in bowl practice and see if you’ve got something on your roster already. It’s a pivotal decision for Ryan Day, one that he can’t really wait on but one that he needs to be patient with to make sure he’s making the right decision,” Holbrook said.

Staples inquired if 2024 soon-to-be signee Noland, a top quarterback recruit, could come and take the job as a true freshman.

Holbrook’s simple answer: No. But he wouldn’t rule it out entirely.

“I think it would be very difficult for Ohio State to hand the keys over to a true freshman in as pivotal of a season as next year will be. Because, yes, they will probably make the 12-team playoff whether you and I are playing quarterback, because of the talent on the roster. But, that’s not the goal here, and Ryan Day knows that’s not the goal,” Holbrook said. “… Now if he comes in and looks like Trevor Lawrence, who’s to say he can’t win the job eventually. But say that he has a chance to win the starting quarterback job, I’m just not sure that’s in the cards.”