Although he’s set to be Ohio State’s backup quarterback for another year, Kyle McCord's confidence is growing as he maintains “the mindset of being the starter.”
Last month, Kyle McCord had an opportunity to pick the mind of a man who knows a thing or two about playing quarterback at Ohio State.in July, the second-year signal-caller told the Buckeye legend, “the jump from year one to year two has been huge” as his understanding of the position and acclimation to the highest level of college football continues to grow.McCord is well-positioned to take over the reins from C.J.
“I'm not going to try to be C.J. if that situation comes up, I'm gonna just try to be myself. But I feel like definitely coming into the second year, the confidence level is a lot higher and you're understanding the offense, understanding ins and outs,” McCord said at a post-practice interview session last week. “So I think definitely from where I was last year to where I am now, I feel like the confidence level is a lot higher.
“That's just the mindset I've really had all last year after they named C.J. the starter, and then now carrying that same mindset into this year. And even though you're not getting all the reps with the ones and you're not going out there with the starters, you still have to prepare like you are the starter. And I think it's tough because sometimes it's easy to let your mind slip and like, ‘Oh, I'm not gonna see the field, like C.J. is the guy.
McCord filled in to start for an injured Stroud as a true freshman, albeit against Akron, and the Philadelphia native said the experience was invaluable. As Stroud dealt with some early struggles to start the year, some thought McCord might have a shot to steal the starting job with a standout performance against the Zips.to complete 72.2% of his passes with 319 yards, two touchdowns and a pick.
“You can practice and you can watch film all you want, but nothing really compares to actually getting out there and playing a real game. And so that experience last year was awesome. And allowing me to get out there and learn and get in the flow of a game I think really helped push my progress in becoming a better quarterback to the next level.”