Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord enters transfer portal, won’t play in Cotton Bowl

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio State will be searching for a new starting quarterback.

Kyle McCord has entered into the NCAA transfer portal, Ohio State announced Monday morning, meaning he will be unavailable when the seventh-ranked Buckeyes play No. 9 Missouri on Dec. 29 in the Cotton Bowl. McCord started all 12 regular-season games for the Buckeyes, throwing for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns with six interceptions while completing 65.8% of his passes (229 of 348).

In a statement posted to social media, McCord said, “I’m extremely thankful for my time at Ohio State. Playing in the scarlet and gray was truly an honor. … Buckeye Nation, your passion is what makes playing in Columbus special.”

McCord was named the starter one week before season opener at Indiana. The junior and redshirt freshman Devin Brown shared duties for the first five weeks before Brown, mostly used in running situations, suffered a leg injury against Penn State. Brown has not played since, although he was active for the season finale at Michigan.

McCord, who threw for 271 yards and two TDs against Michigan, engineered a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to bring OSU within three points. But after Michigan went up 30-24, the potential winning drive fell short when McCord threw an interception at the 20-yard line with 25 seconds remaining.

Michigan also capitalized on McCord’s first interception of the game, in the first quarter, to take a 7-0 lead. It was Ohio State’s third consecutive loss to Michigan.

Among McCord’s best games this season were his 335-yard, three-touchdown performance against Michigan State and a 276-yard, three-TD effort at Purdue. He also helped seal the victory vs. No. 7 Penn State with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. with 4:07 remaining, and he engineered a 73-yard drive in under 90 seconds for the winning touchdown with 1 second remaining at Notre Dame.

Coach Ryan Day said Sunday that the team would evaluate every position moving toward the 2024 season when asked about McCord’s role with the team.

“I mean, right now we’re not actively out there searching for anything other than we’ll see kind of what the next month brings in all positions. So I’m not going to sit here and get into specifics on each of those positions,” he said.

“When you come up short, the bottom line is you’ve got to look at everything, because you didn’t get it done. And that’s the thing that is just sobering here. At 11-1, you come up short on the last possession, it’s just not good enough. So you’ve got to look at everything, and we will look at everything.”

Brown, true freshman Lincoln Kienholz and senior Tristian Gebbia are the remaining quarterbacks on the roster. If Kienholz were to play in the Cotton Bowl, it would not count to his overall eligibility. He appeared in two regular-season games.

The Buckeyes also received a commitment from Fairburn, Georgia, native Air Noland, for the 2024 season.

According to on3.com, McCord, along with running back Evan Pryor and cornerback Jyaire Brown, are among the Ohio State players to enter the transfer portal. Last week, former four-star recruit DE Omari Abor also announced he was leaving. It was announced later Monday that WR Julian Fleming would also enter into the transfer portal.

The Cotton Bowl is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. Dec. 29 in Arlington, Texas.