SYRACUSE — It’s been 15 months since Kyle McCord transferred from Ohio State, and in that time he’s gone from afterthought in Columbus to the most important player in Syracuse’s 10-win season under first-year head coach Fran Brown.
On Monday, the Orange held its pro day and McCord, who set the ACC passing record with 4,779 yards last season (to go along with 34 touchdowns), picked up right where he left off in the fall. His throws were crisp, accurate, and often thrown with anticipation. And while every quarterback drafted can make “every NFL throw,” McCord shines on intermediate routes, when he can fit the ball into a small window, and also has the touch to consistently layer balls over second-level defenders.
It’s always dangerous to put too much stock into a pro-day performance; we saw that back in 2014 with Johnny Manziel, and more recently with Zach Wilson. But McCord just reconfirmed what we all saw in 2024 — that sometimes, players need a change of scenery to get the most out of their abilities. And for McCord, that was leaving Columbus for Syracuse, where he was the unquestioned No. 1 from Day 1, and he consistently reconfirmed his place atop the depth chart each week.
That said, there were some bumps in the road. Obviously, his 2023 season didn’t go as he had planned, and it prompted his decision to transfer. There was also that game last fall, the five-interception performance on the road against Pittsburgh. Not surprisingly, McCord was asked about it by some NFL teams at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“I had a meeting and I walked in and right away I saw a clip from the Pitt game,” McCord told CBS Sports at the combine. “I already knew the direction that meeting was going, but honestly, teams like to talk about it and looking back on it, obviously it wasn’t a fun game, but I’m glad I went through it.
“You’re going to have bad games and how do you respond? I feel like…
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