Fran Brown takes playful jab at Ryan Day over Kyle McCord, offers present

Syracuse ultimately rolled to a 38-22 win over Ohio to start the Fran Brown era in central New York. And transfer quarterback Kyle McCord looked the part of a top quarterback in the process.

McCord, who transferred to Syracuse from Ohio State in the offseason, wasn’t shy in saying that he effectively got shown the door from the Buckeyes program at the end of the 2023 season. So, after McCord went for 354 passing yards and four touchdowns in his debut for the Orange, Brown was quick to not only praise McCord, but offer his thanks to Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.

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“Kyle’s a good football player, you’ve seen it right there. I should send Ryan Day a bottle of champagne for allowing us to get Kyle McCord,” Brown said.

All told, McCord turned in a 27-for-39 performance passing, racking up 354 yards and four touchdowns against just one interception.

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McCord recently said he’s still grateful for his time in Columbus

McCord discussed his time in Columbus while at ACC Media Days in Charlotte on Thursday. He expressed his gratitude for his opportunity there as a reserve for two seasons before being their starting quarterback last fall.

“Truly grateful for my three years at Ohio State,” said McCord. “I got to sit behind CJ (Stroud) for two years, learned a lot from him. Then I had the opportunity to start there last year.”

McCord appeared in 24 games, including 13 starts with a dozen coming last year, for Ohio State from 2021 to 2023. In that time, he completed 66.5% of his throws for 3,776 yards, 27 touchdowns, and eight interception. Most of that came as a junior last season with him throwing for 3,170 yards, 24 scores, and six picks on 65.8% completion as the starter.

McCord then elected to enter the transfer portal upon the opening of the cycle in early December. He later committed to Syracuse two weeks later under their new head coach in Brown. He did so as the No. 9 QB and No. 49 overall transfer per On3’s 2024 Transfer Portal Top Players.

Now, with a season of eligibility left, McCord wants to make the most of this chance inside the Carrier Dome. He’s going to do so by emphasizing victories and being competitive in the ACC.

“I think just the biggest thing I’ve been focusing on is the biggest thing is winning and the product that you put on the field. That’s kind of the message to the team,” said McCord. “No matter what happens at the end of the day? Like, when we go out on the field, we’re going to have to compete. We’re going to have to win. We’re going to have to be tough.”