Former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord's transfer portal journey takes unexpected turn

On Sunday, Syracuse.com's Brent Axe reported McCord intends to transfer to the Orange, a surprising development after McCord was viewed as a virtual lock to play under Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule.

Last week, On3's transfer portal predictor labeled the former Buckeyes quarterback as "100 percent" committed to Nebraska, so we now know how meaningless those numbers are.

It also could indicate bigger developments for Nebraska. This weekend, five-star Georgia commit Dylan Raiola had an official visit at Nebraska. His uncle, Donovan Raiola, is the Cornhuskers offensive line coach and the only staff member under Scott Frost to be retained by Rhule, forming a familial bond between the No. 2 overall recruit of the 2024 class and Nebraska.

Per 247 Sports, Nebraska's O-line coach also recently received a 53 percent raise on his contract which was going to expire this month.

With McCord out of the picture and Rhule desperately needing a quarterback for his second season in Lincoln, the Cornhuskers must sway Raiola, or another top quarterback, to join the program.

As for Syracuse, landing McCord is huge for first-year head coach Fran Brown, who was hired earlier this month as the program's 31st head coach after spending the past two seasons as Georgia's defensive backs coach.

Known for his recruiting prowess, he's already improved the Orange. Syracuse also added 2023 four-star wide receiver recruit Yazeed Haynes through the portal out of Georgia, giving McCord a top talent to play alongside.

This season, McCord took over for C.J. Stroud and started all 12 games for Ohio State. He finished the season 229-of-348 (65.8 percent) for 3,170 yards (9.1 yards per attempt), 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.