OHIO STATE PLAYERS SUPPORT AND DEFEND KYLE MCCORD AFTER TRANSFER DECISION
Many of Ohio State’s players found out Kyle McCord was transferring the same way Ohio State fans did.
Right tackle Josh Fryar said he found out through Twitter. Fellow offensive lineman Donovan Jackson also said he first saw the news on social media. Even Ohio State’s backup quarterback, Devin Brown, was caught by surprise when he heard the news that Monday morning.
“It definitely caught me off-guard, I wasn’t expecting anything,” Brown said. “So it was definitely a shock.”
McCord told a smaller group of teammates a couple of days before the transfer portal opened that he was planning to enter the portal, and those Buckeyes told him they supported his decision.
“It was a couple guys in the locker room. He basically told us he was going to explore other opportunities, and we fully respect him,” said defensive tackle Tyleik Williams. “He’s gonna make his own decision.”
Not every player who met with the media on Tuesday wanted to talk about the quarterback who was no longer with the program. Fryar said he “didn’t know what to think” when he saw that McCord entered the portal, and “that’s really all I’m gonna say about it.”
For the most part, though, even the players who were surprised by his decision expressed support for their former teammate even though he’ll now be playing at another school.
“He just chose what was best for him. You know, he’s my brother, man. I’m proud of wherever he goes,” Jackson said. “Wherever he chooses, man, I’m supporting him 1,000%.”
Many Buckeyes were sad to see McCord go, including wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who caught many passes from McCord over the past three years in practices and games. But Egbuka also said he wants and expects to see McCord succeed wherever he ends up.
“Kyle’s one of my best friends. So in that regard, it kind of hurts to see him go. But on the other side, I’m so excited for him,” Egbuka said. “I mean, he’s gonna have an amazing future. He’s a competitor. Wherever he goes, he’s gonna make a direct impact. So I couldn’t be more happy for him or excited for him for the step forward. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to play with me. So that kind of sucks. He’s one of my best friends. I think he’s a great quarterback. But I’m just super excited for him.”
Egbuka felt McCord took more criticism than he deserved for his play during the 2023 season.
“People can say what they want about Kyle, we went 11-1, we had a great season,” Egbuka said. “Unfortunately we lost to the team up north. But you can’t really discredit the things that he did. We had a Biletnikoff winner, you can’t just have that with a terrible quarterback. So there’s not too much to be said about the quarterback play. I think it’s always going to be top-tier at Ohio State.”