- Height- 6’3
- Weight- 215
- Hometown- Philadelphia, PA.
- Recruit Class- 2021
- 247 Style/Rank- Pro/4
ST. Joseph’s Prep
Kyle McCord won the starting quarterback job as just a sophomore at Philadelphia-area powerhouse St. Joseph’s Prep. He passed for 2,883 yards and 38 touchdowns, completing 66.5% of his passes in his first season as a starter.
As a junior, McCord suffered an unspecified injury that would sideline him for four weeks; but he still passed for 2,399 yards and 31 touchdowns.
McCord had his best year in his senior season, on his way to leading St. Joseph’s Prep to the school’s third consecutive state championship. During his high school career, McCord saved his best performances for the critical situations, setting the Pennsylvania 6A classification playoffs on absolute fire. He passed for six touchdowns in a semi-final game, and finished a second game with a 75.0% completion percentage. In the championship game against Central York in his senior season, McCord passed for 336 yards and 4 touchdowns, with two of those touchdown passes going to Marvin Harrison Jr., who’ll join McCord in Columbus this season.
McCord would end his high school career with 6,887 yards and 88 passing touchdowns, setting league and city records in both categories. McCord would earn MaxPreps All-State team honors as a senior in addition to winning the Philadelphia Catholic League MVP award. He was also selected to compete in the All-American Bowl and the Elite 11 Finals.
Verified Results
- Forty- 5.07 seconds
- Shuttle- 4.50 seconds
- Vertical- 25.80 inches
Results are from The Opening Regional per 247Sports.com all verified on 04/07/19
Kyle McCord committed to Ohio State in April 2019 and he officially signed his letter of intent on December 16th, 2020.
McCord is the 25th ranked player overall in the 2021 freshman class and the number three ranked quarterback. He is a five-star prospect per the 247Sports.com composite ranking. He joins an already loaded Ohio State quarterback room with five-star quarterback CJ Stroud (third-ranked quarterback of the 2020 class) and four-star Jack Miller ( 27th ranked quarterback of the 2020 class.)
Strengths
Accuracy
McCord has incredible accuracy. On quick, three-step drops, McCord plants and throws the ball with perfect placement to his wide receivers. It’s not always easy for a quarterback to lead his receiver perfectly like this so that the receiver never breaks stride.
McCord displays above-average arm strength both in and out of the pocket. While McCord does a great job as shown in the videos above throwing the deep ball, he could probably work to improve the accuracy of his deep passes. That said, McCord doesn’t have the strongest arm in this class.
Pocket Manipulation
McCord consistently works his way around the pocket to find open passing windows. While he won’t be confused for a mobile quarterback, his ability to step up in the pocket, avoid the rush, and deliver an accurate throw is one of the best parts of his game.
Even when McCord is forced out of the pocket, he continually keeps his eyes downfield. He has enough mobility to keep the play alive long enough to hit his receivers.
When running out of the pocket, McCord is quite accurate on his throws and does a good job generating power and zip on the ball.
What formats am I buying in?
So what’s the verdict? Every player joining the college ranks looks good on their high school film. They’re usually dominant high school players who courted offers from multiple Power 5 schools. Still, the question remains, what do I do with this player? What is his value in devy leagues? What is his value in campus 2 canton?
In devy leagues, it’s hard to say his exact value. He will be competing for the Ohio State Buckeyes’ starting job. However, you’ll still have to wait three years to get any NFL production from him. As of now unless you’re in a deep devy league (10 rounds or more) I wouldn’t draft McCord. In deep devy leagues, I would be willing to use one of my last picks on him.
Devy Verdict: Unless you’re in a deep devy league I would not draft him as of now. In deep leagues, I would draft as one of my last picks.
For Campus to Canton leagues, Kyle McCord’s value changes immediately. Ohio State is known for having a quarterback-friendly and explosive offense. He will be competing for the job in 2021 and if he wins it you’ll be able to get a very talented starting quarterback with NFL upside late in your drafts (current Campus to Canton ADP is pick 99, roughly the 15th quarterback off the board).
C2C Verdict: With the value on quarterbacks in the Campus to Canton format, due to it mostly being SuperFlex or even three to four starting quarterbacks. Right now I would likely target taking McCord anywhere in the 5th round or later. The earliest he’s been seen going as of now is the 5th round.
Conclusion
Kyle McCord is an impressive quarterback prospect. He consistently shows great pocket poise both in clean pockets and under pressure. He can pass the ball with incredible accuracy both from in the pocket or on the move. In the short and intermediate areas of the field, he has great touch but needs to improve the accuracy on some of his deep balls.
McCord joins a loaded quarterback room at Ohio State. Which could become even more of an issue next year when top prospect Quinn Ewers, who is currently committed to the Buckeyes, joins the team in January 2022. McCord has all the intangibles to win the job in 2021. He also fits the role of a more traditional pocket passer for Ryan Day’s offense. Both CJ Stroud and Jack Miller were at Ohio State last season and have been practicing and playing in the offense. Stroud (8 total offensive snaps in 2020 season) and Miller (10 total offensive snaps in 2020 season) will be his main competition. Stroud and McCord are the leaders to win the job.
While many will pick Stroud to come away with the job, I believe McCord will win the quarterback battle and be the starting quarterback for The Ohio State Buckeyes in 2021. I expect him to keep the starting job in 2022 as well even with highly touted recruit Quinn Ewers entering the fold.
