SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — After Kyle McCord threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns in his Syracuse debut, first-time head coach Fran Brown thought about sending a bottle of champagne to Ohio State coach Ryan Day.
If McCord keeps it going, Brown may have to up the ante.
The Orange are off to a 2-0 start, including an upset over then-No. 23 Georgia Tech, and a lot of the credit goes to the former Buckeyes quarterback whose transfer to the school in upstate New York caught many by surprise.
McCord leads the nation in touchdown passes per game (4.0) and is second in passing yards per game (367.5). He and the Orange rank third in the nation and second in the ACC in passing offense. The New Jersey native has already set career highs in completions and yards, and he’s tied his personal best of four touchdown passes in the win against Georgia Tech.
The early results have washed away the “sour taste” with the way last season ended for McCord — the season-ending loss against Michigan and doubts about his status as the Buckeyes starting quarterback despite leading Ohio State to an 11-1 record. He finished the season with 24 touchdown passes and just six interceptions while completing nearly 66% of his passes. The fact that he didn’t quite measure up to his most immediate predecessors – Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud – didn’t help.
“I thought we should move in one direction. They didn’t see it that way, so it was kind of a quick decision to get in the portal,” McCord said. “Things happened rather quick.”
The early results, which have garnered the attention of NFL scouts, have been gratifying for McCord, who acknowledged he is playing with a bit of a chip on his shoulder.
“Any time you step on the football field there’s something to prove, but especially given the way last year went and especially how it ended, I definitely felt like I needed to come here and prove myself,” he said ahead of Friday night’s home against Stanford. “I know the player I am and what I’m capable of.”
As well as things have been going, it was surprising that the former five-star recruit out of St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia transferred from a blueblood to a program that’s produced mostly middling results since joining the ACC. He is the highest-ranked player to commit to Syracuse since ESPN began recording recruiting rankings in 2006.
McCord’s longs relationships with Brown, whom he has known since sixth grade, and quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile and offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon, tipped the scale for the Orange. Brown, who came to Syracuse as one of the nation’s top recruiters, called McCord just hours after he had entered his name in the portal. Brown hopped on a plane in Syracuse, and the two chatted for about three hours in McCord’s Columbus apartment.
“I’ve known coach Brown forever and there’s a great team around me. There was really no doubt about the decision, but if you were to have asked me right after the season, did I think things would go like this I’d say no, but at the end of the day things happen for a reason,” McCord said. “Obviously it (last season) didn’t end in a picture-perfect way, but to land on my feet, in a situation like this, with coaches like this and players like this, I’m blessed. Sometimes things have to fall apart for things to come together. This is definitely one of those situations.”
Brown’s message to help write a new chapter in Syracuse football history also resonated with McCord.
“Coach Fran’s biggest message to me was that this is a completely new era for Syracuse football. He said, ‘I want it to start with me and you.’ It means a lot to me,” McCord recalled. “Growing up in the Northeast I know the rich history of Syracuse football. A lot of greats have put the uniform on here. To have the opportunity to bring it back to where it once was means a lot. I don’t take that responsibility lightly.”
His coach is thrilled to have him on board.
“He’s a good player. A really good player, and I think he’s been showing that consistently,” Brown said. “I get the opportunity to coach him. I’m thankful and blessed that he’s here at Syracuse. He needed to do what was best for him to be successful. Sometimes you need change. I think he needed a change.”
And, so far, change has been good.
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