Kyle McCord 'can't confirm or deny' possibility of waiver to play at Syracuse in 2025

Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord, the nation’s leading passer in 2024, is seemingly out of college eligibility and will be heading to the NFL after the Orange play in the Holiday Bowl. That is if he doesn’t get a waiver from the NCAA for another year of college.

How, exactly, McCord might go about that isn’t entirely clear, as it usually requires the athlete demonstrate some hardship. But he didn’t shoot down the possibility of petitioning for another year of college ball, either.

“I can’t confirm or deny,” McCord said on local radio in Syracuse. “But we’ll see. We’ll see how it all shakes out.”

McCord, who finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2024, led Syracuse to a 9-3 record during his first season with the Orange. He passed for 4,326 yards, 29 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 65.8% completion percentage in 12 games.

McCord transferred to Syracuse ahead of the 2024 season after spending one season as the starter at Ohio State. And McCord seemed to be quite content with how his decision worked out after seemingly getting scapegoated for Ohio State’s loss to Michigan in 2023.

When he was asked if he took any satisfaction in beating fellow transfer QB Cam Ward and Miami coupled with his former school losing to Michigan in the regular season finale, McCord didn’t go off with a long answer.

He kept it short and sweet.

“Everything comes full circle,” McCord said, causing laughter between his teammates and reporters.

McCord led Syracuse to a 42-38 upset win over Miami while Michigan stunned Ohio State, 13-10, in Columbus.

And even Syracuse head coach Fran Brown was pleased to have McCord in the building, even thanking the Buckeyes.

“So I’m happy that Kyle was able to go and clear his name, come here and show that he’s a good quarterback,” Brown said. “I got ridiculed for stating that I wanted to send Ryan Day a bottle of champagne where I wasn’t being disrespectful. I was just saying, this guy’s the real deal, and you guys let him come here, like, great, thank you. I still owe him. Should send him some more, should send him a (expletive) case … excuse my language, but just extremely excited and thankful for Kyle.”