Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day lavishes praise on former player

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, who enters his sixth season at the helm, spoke positively about former Ohio State and current Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord. McCord was the Buckeyes full-time starter for the first time in 2023 with Day before having transferred to Syracuse after last season.

McCord beat out quarterback Devin Brown for the starting spot after the departure of former Ohio State and current Houston Texans quarterback C.J Stroud to the NFL Draft. The 21-year old quarterback faced immense pressure having to follow Stroud and the expectations being under center for a storied program.

McCord had a solid campaign with the Buckeyes in 2023 by having tossed for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns along with 6 interceptions. The 6-foot-3 pass thrower even earned Third-Team All-Big Ten honors for his play, but McCord played a factor in having lost to conference rival Michigan Wolverines by having thrown a game-clinching interception. The Buckeyes haven't beaten the Wolverines since 2019.

Even though McCord played well throughout the course of the season, he received immense backlash from Ohio State fans for not only losing to Michigan, but also having not particpated in the College Football Playoff.

McCord decided to take his talents to Syracuse and unite with former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown. In fact, Brown and McCord's family have ties that date back to when McCord was in middle school.

So far, the tandem of McCord and Brown has worked. The Orange are currently 2-0 while McCord has posted a solid statline of 735 passing yards and 8 touchdowns across two games. As of now, the former Buckeyes quarterback ranks 3rd in total passing yards and leads the Orange offense to fourth in the country in total offense, respectively.

The Buckeyes, however, snagged former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard from the transfer portal. Howard has posted a statline of 520 passing yards and 4 touchdowns across two matchups, but it remains to be seen if Howard can lead the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff and perhaps beat Michigan.

The Orange and McCord will do battle against Stanford on September 20th.