Kyle McCord talks about ‘natural’ transition to becoming leader

Leadership is coming natural to the next potential starting quarterback of the Ohio State Buckeyes in Kyle McCord.

Many believe Ryan Day will tab McCord to be CJ Stroud‘s replacement for the 2023 season, although nothing is set in stone at the moment. Still, McCord is taking it upon himself to step up as a leader, stating that it’s been a “natural transition” for him.

“I think honestly it was more-so a natural transition,” stated McCord. “When CJ’s here, you don’t want to step on his toes or anything like that, because he was obviously the clear, defined leader of the team. He was the voice of the team. But now that he’s gone, I think naturally the opportunity is to step up and speak, things like that came. So it was good.

“Definitely something I was trying to be a little conscience of early on in the winter, and then over time just became a second nature.”

Over recent seasons, Ohio State hasn’t missed a beat on offense, despite some changes at the quarterback position. Kyle McCord could be the next in line in Columbus, and it bodes well for him that he’s already making his impact on the team.

Urban Meyer breaks down Ohio State’s quarterback battle, challenge naming starter

As teams around the country begin to get ready for spring ball, many like Ohio State will have a tricky quarterback battle to navigate.

In the modern era of college football, the race for playing time is constantly going on. And if someone isn’t getting the job, he’s likely to consider options elsewhere in pretty short order.

“The one thing that you’d like to do is find your guy and find him early and get moving,” former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said on Urban’s Take with Tim May. “The negative is that if you do that early the other guy will probably leave and then you’re stuck.”

Ohio State is one of the teams that finds itself in that position after losing veteran CJ Stroud to the NFL Draft. A quarterback battle is inevitable.

This spring two will duke it out for the reins of the Ohio State offense, with junior Kyle McCord and redshirt freshman Devin Brown expected to be the primary contenders for the job.

“I’ve not talked directly about that to coach (Ryan) Day, but I’m sure that’s on the back of his mind saying, ‘I’ve got two,’” Meyer explained. “He feels good about those two quarterbacks, they’ve been around, they’re talented. But what happens once you name a starter?”