K
yle McCord was unsure what newly-hired Syracuse head coach Fran Brown meant when he said he would “come see him” on Dec. 4, 2023. Twelve hours earlier, McCord entered his name into the transfer portal at its midnight opening. The now-former Ohio State quarterback’s phone blew up throughout the day, but Brown’s call stood out.
Was Brown going to visit him sometime down the line? Did he happen to be in Ohio?
McCord’s intrigue and confusion were further sparked after Brown’s follow-up call. The former Georgia defensive backs coach revealed he and SU quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile, who have each known McCord since he was in middle school, were flying into Columbus that night.
Brown and Campanile immediately headed to McCord’s apartment once they landed. The coaches spent the next four hours with McCord and emphasized the Orange were a quarterback away from contending. From there, McCord said his recruitment process revolved around comparing other schools to Syracuse. Thirteen days later, SU had its guy.
“When I looked at the team, it was really just a quarterback shy of being a contender,” McCord said of Syracuse. “And I felt like it just made a lot of sense for me to come in here and take that role.”
McCord will command Syracuse’s offense in his final year of collegiate eligibility after spending the last three seasons at Ohio State. Following three state championships in as many years at St. Joseph’s Prep (Pennsylvania), McCord — ESPN’s No. 31 class of 2021 recruit — backed up CJ Stroud during his first two seasons with the Buckeyes.
After Stroud’s departure to the NFL, McCord took over as Ohio State’s starter in 2023. He notched an 11-1 regular season record while completing 65.8% of his passes for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns. SU hasn’t won 10 or more games since 2018 or seen a 3,000-yard passer since Ryan Nassib in 2012.
“Me and him needed each other, and we understood each other, we were from the same area and all and I just felt that it would be great for my career to have such a good leader right away,” Brown said of McCord during July’s ACC Kickoff. “And then it would be great for him to have a coach that — and nothing toward his last coach — just to have a coach that truly wanted him to be the leader of our football team.”
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After backing up Stroud, McCord had a clear path toward the starting job in 2023, yet had to compete with sophomore Devin Brown throughout training camp to earn the role. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day called it a back-and-forth battle before naming McCord its starting quarterback three days before the season opener. Despite getting the opening day nod, Day didn’t commit to McCord for the full season.
Following two straight wins to open the year, Day committed to McCord for the rest of the season on Sept. 12. McCord’s biggest step forward came two weeks later when he helped lead the then-No. 6 Buckeyes on a game-winning, 65-yard touchdown drive with 1:26 remaining against then-No. 9 Notre Dame on the road.
“I think (McCord) can add his football IQ to the table, his playmaking ability, go out there and win when the game is on the line and execute,” said Kentucky running back Chip Trayanum, who was teammates with McCord at Ohio State from 2022-23 and scored the game-winning touchdown against ND.
Even with another top-10 win over then-No. 9 Penn State and a season-high 335 passing yards against Michigan State, McCord was evaluated under a microscope. Ohio State’s last three starting quarterbacks — Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and Stroud — became program legends before becoming first-round NFL Draft picks. OSU hadn’t had a quarterback selected in the NFL Draft’s first round since Art Schlichter in 1982 before the trio.
McCord had nearly impossible shoes to fill. Still, he led the Buckeyes to an undefeated record and a No. 2 ranking heading into the final week of the regular season.
But all that mattered was the rivalry game against then-No. 3 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Due in part to McCord’s interceptions in the first quarter and final minute, the Wolverines secured a 30-24 victory. Michigan went on to win the NCAA title while Ohio State lost in the Cotton Bowl.
“With what happened last year, if you really look at it, we’re a play away from probably beating the national championship team,” said former high school and college teammate wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. on The Trenches Show with Zaire Franklin. “The situation didn’t really work out in (McCord’s) favor … he wanted to do what was in the best interest of himself in going to Syracuse, kind of starting over. I expect him to do great things.”
The loss was Ohio State’s third straight to Michigan. The Buckeyes lost the top spot in the Big Ten East and failed to qualify for the four-team College Football Playoff. McCord shouldered much of the blame. In a press conference the following weekend on Dec. 3, Day wouldn’t name McCord as the team’s 2024 starting quarterback.
Photograph Courtesy of SU Athletics
Later that night, McCord said he finalized his decision to enter the transfer portal, adding it was “kind of a last-minute decision.” While Ohio State wasn’t willing to commit to McCord, Syracuse viewed him as a potential program-altering quarterback.
“That was the guy that, if we got him here, we had a chance to do great things and help build this first year around him,” Campanile said of McCord. “It was really important to us to make sure that we got what we thought was the best guy in the country on our team. And I think that will pay huge dividends for us and for him this year.”
Under Campanile, who took over as SU’s interim head coach when Dino Babers was dismissed, the Orange lacked a passing threat because of fifth-year senior Garrett Shrader’s injuries. In its bowl game, Syracuse fell 45-0 to South Florida. It marked the program’s fifth straight year without a bowl victory.
The Orange desperately needed a polished signal caller to start the Brown-era strong. Having three coaches who had extensive familiarity with McCord played a big role in turning that glaring weakness into a key strength.
When McCord was in middle school, his father, Derek McCord, worked at GE Healthcare as a Product Sales Specialist. He met Brown’s wife, Teara Brown, as she was working a fellowship to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Derek showed Teara a couple of his son’s highlights, and Brown — then an assistant at Temple — soon began watching Pennsauken Middle School (New Jersey) practices.
“He’s been ready for a long time,” Brown said of McCord. “I’m just very thankful to have him be our quarterback. It means a lot to have him, he’s a great dude, that’s my guy.”
The McCords met Campanile around the same time. Derek, a quarterback at Rutgers from 1988 to 1992, was introduced to Campanile — then the head coach at Bergen Catholic High School (New Jersey) — through a family friend.
Well before meeting Brown and Campanile, the McCords knew Syracuse offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon because he lived in their hometown of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. Derek coached McCord and Nixon’s son, Will Nixon — now a running back at SU — when they were in kindergarten. McCord also grew up competing with Duce Chestnut, Alijah Clark and Fadil Diggs, among several other Orange players.
“Had we won (the Michigan) game, things might be a little different this year,” Derek said. “But my wife, Kyle and I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I 100% believe he’s in the right spot for him, and he’s going to flourish this year under coaches that we’ve known for years, who have his back and support him wholeheartedly and will allow him to play free.”
Kyle McCord is looking to become SU’s first 3,000-yard passer since Ryan Nassib threw for 3,749 yards in 2012. Joe Zhao | Video Editor
Beyond his familiarity with the coaching staff, McCord believed in SU’s offensive weapons. Running back LeQuint Allen Jr. and tight end Dan Villari became breakout stars on a depleted roster last season. Wide receiver Trebor Peña and tight end Oronde Gadsden II are also set to return following early season-ending injuries.
After Brown arrived at SU, he added former Georgia wide receivers Zeed Haynes and Jackson Meeks. Additionally, he picked up wideout Justus Ross-Simmons from Colorado State to bolster Syracuse’s offense.
“Kyle is going to be a playmaker,” Meeks said. “Kyle is going to get the ball around to all of his different weapons and he’s going to continue to lead like he did at (Ohio) State. One game doesn’t determine who a person is, and y’all gonna see that this fall.”
SU’s program and McCord’s camp know a couple of plays last year are the difference between McCord returning to Columbus and transferring to Syracuse. But a 2023 season full of highs and lows has led him to the center of a program needing him to kickstart a new era.
“I wanted to go somewhere where I could win right away,” McCord said. “Last year going 6-7 wasn’t the goal for Syracuse, but I feel like the pieces were there. I feel like all it needed was a few shifts in the culture and Fran has done that. And then me coming in here, I feel like I was the missing piece to tie it all together.”
Photograph Courtesy of SU Athletics
Published on August 29, 2024 at 12:04 am
Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon
