Syracuse, NY — Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord will head to the NFL Draft and will no longer seek an NCAA waiver for a fifth season of college eligibility, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
McCord had applied for a waiver with the NCAA that would have allowed him to play for the Orange next season if he had chosen. His first attempt to get the exemption was rejected. He was in the middle of appealing that decision.
At the Holiday Bowl last month, McCord said he was undecided whether to go to NFL or return to college if waiver cleared.
While Syracuse head coach Fran Brown said he hoped to hear from the NCAA this week, McCord said he decided not to wait on the outcome and that the time was right for him to head to the NFL.
“I think the biggest thing for me obviously was that I felt like I put together a really good year.” McCord told ESPN. “With the way everything worked out and what I’m hearing in terms of feedback at the draft, it just makes sense to go after weighing all the options.”
McCord expressed appreciation for Syracuse, Brown and offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon in his comments to Thamel.
In recent comments, Brown said he was hopeful McCord would return to Syracuse but also thought he is one of the top five quarterbacks that will be available in the NFL Draft and that he is ready for the NFL.
Brown credited him with setting the tone for the level of professionalism and competitiveness he wanted to see at Syracuse, and Nixon built his offense around McCord’s ability to throw quickly and accurately to an array of wide receivers.
McCord led the nation in passing this season with 4,779 yards, setting a single-season record for both the ACC and Syracuse quarterbacks. In breaking the ACC mark, he passed Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, Boston College’s Matt Ryan and North Carolina State’s Phillip Rivers.
Considering his passing numbers had never been accomplished before by an ACC quarterback, it’s hard to imagine McCord would have bettered them against a schedule that will include four College Football Playoff qualifiers next year, as well as games against Miami and North Carolina (and Bill Belichick).
He was the first major offseason acquisition Brown made as head coach of the Orange and contributed to a wildly successful start to his tenure. In addition to McCord’s productive numbers, Syracuse won 10 games for just the third time since 1992.
Along the road McCord became one of college football’s greatest stories, going from a player who took all the blame for rare losses with the Buckeyes to the one who got the lion’s share of the credit with Syracuse, creating memorable moments with an emotional sideline against Virginia Tech and rap song celebrations with his teammates that went viral on Instagram.
McCord played well on a loaded Ohio State team last year but the Buckeyes fell one game short of the College Football Playoffs, losing to rival Michigan. Afterwards, McCord endured a messy breakup.
During his time at Syracuse, he rebuilt his reputation and positioned McCord to be taken in the next year’s NFL draft.
ESPN noted that McCord is expected to be a mid-round NFL pick but could boost his stock later this month with a strong performance in the East-West Shrine Bowl.
A number of high-profile quarterbacks who could have entered the NFL Draft have opted to return to school since the end of the season, a group that includes LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar and Georgia’s Carson Beck.
While these players’ decisions showed that in some cases playing another season of college football is more desirable than being drafted, their exits from the starter list thinned out the competition McCord will face to be a high selection.
McCord’s departure means that, unless the Orange add a second quarterback from the transfer portal this offseason, Syracuse will enter next season with an inexperienced quarterback.
The Orange added LSU transfer quarterback Rickie Collins in the offseason in one of their biggest splash moves. Syracuse also returns last year’s backup quarterback Michael Johnson Jr. and will have young options in their quarterback room that include Jakhari Williams and Luke Carney.
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