Kyle McCord sends farewell to C.J. Stroud as Ohio State QB declares for NFL Draft

Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord said farewell to C.J. Stroud, as the latter declared for the 2023 NFL Draft. 

Stroud waited on his decision close to the draft deadline, but ultimately decided to go pro following another Heisman Trophy finalist season. Stroud helped lead Ohio State to an 11-2 record and the College Football Playoff.

McCord, who will be in the running for the starting job next season, gave a tip of the cap to his teammate.

Be Great 7 🤞🏼 https://t.co/hFwggEEdN0

— Kyle McCord (@kylemccord16) January 16, 2023

“Be Great 7 (fingers crossed emoji),” McCord wrote on Twitter.

In 12 game appearances over two seasons with Ohio State, McCord is 41-of-58 (70.7%) passing for 606 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

As a member of the Class of 2021, McCord was a five-star prospect out of Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, the No. 5 quarterback in the class and the No. 25 overall prospect in the class.

“You just have to have the mindset of being the starter, holding yourself to that standard, and being on your Ps and Qs about watching film, little details in practice and stuff like that, because you never really know when that opportunity is going to come,” McCord said during Ohio State preseason camp in August. “So you really have to stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. That’s kind of been my mindset this entire offseason.”

McCord will likely compete with Devin Brown, who appeared in just two games this season. He just ran once for one yard and did not attempt a pass.

As a member of the Class of 2022, Brown was a five-star prospect out of Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 5 quarterback in the class and the No. 31 overall prospect in the class.

“So, bowl practice has been good,” head coach Ryan Day said ahead of the Peach Bowl versus Georgia. “We’ve been able to see both Devin and Kyle compete. That’s been great. But that competition’s going to go in through the spring and we’ll kind of see what we’ve got when we get there.”

For Day, it’s really a matter of seeing which quarterback shifts the balance in their favor.

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“It’s delicate, but if someone becomes the clear-cut No. 1, he becomes the clear-cut No. 1 and you go from there. Sometimes you don’t know until you get on the field. You don’t know. I think about some of the situations we’ve had like that. 

“We’ve felt like, at that moment, that we named Dwayne (Haskins) the starter because we felt like he was the starter at that time. And then didn’t want Joe (Burrow) to leave and it was hard for him to leave but he did. And obviously worked out great for him. Other guys, other times, we weren’t sure.”