Axe: Syracuse football hit the transfer portal lottery with Kyle McCord

Syracuse, N.Y. —For all the handwringing and bellyaching going on about how the transfer portal and NIL are ruining college sports, Kyle McCord showed how it can be done in one record-setting season as Syracuse’s quarterback.

If loving that is wrong, Syracuse football fans don’t want to be right.

Syracuse hit the transfer portal lottery with McCord, who led the country in passing this season with 4,779 yards, setting a single-season record for both ACC and Syracuse quarterbacks. He also set a Syracuse single-season record with 34 touchdowns.

McCord brought the ultimate package of experience, talent and leadership to the roster.

His prior relationships with SU head coach Fran Brown, who encouraged McCord to rediscover his “Little League Kyle” persona at Syracuse, and offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon were a cheat code to install and execute an offense built around his talents in a timeframe that defied logic to get it done.

McCord engineered just the third 10-win season at Syracuse since 1992 and firmly planted himself on the Mount Rushmore of Syracuse quarterbacks along with Donovan McNabb, Don McPherson and Eric Dungey (though one can make the case Marvin Graves or Ryan Nassib deserves that fourth spot).

McCord is poised to become the first Syracuse quarterback drafted since Nassib in 2013 and has set the highest bar possible for who earns the nod as his successor.

While he didn’t win a championship here, McCord’s one-and-done season will fit aptly in the conversation along with Carmelo Anthony’s single-year in Syracuse as one of the great flashpoints in SU Athletics history.

Anthony’s legacy reverberates to this day as his soon-to-be Hall of Fame status gives Syracuse instant credibility that has carried through a new generation.

The Carmelo K. Anthony basketball practice facility bears his name and soon his son, Kiyan, ranked as a Top 50 prospect in the Class of 2025, will attempt to follow in his father’s footsteps.

McCord showed all future prospective Orange quarterbacks, whether that be from traditional recruiting or the portal, that it can be done at Syracuse.

You can set records, earn significant NIL money and get NFL scouts to track your every move at Syracuse.

Most importantly, McCord showed you can win at Syracuse with Brown as your guide.

His one-year stop in Syracuse, one he called the “best decision I ever made in my life,” could reverberate here for generations if Brown plays his cards right.

There will be plenty of time to determine how SU football will move on in 2025 without McCord as its signal-caller.

For now, savor the memories of spiking the ball on the sideline against Georgia Tech or smile at viral videos striking back at those who didn’t want him at Ohio State.

Oh, and never let Kyle McCord buy a meal or drink in this town again.

Contact Brent Axe: Email | X | BlueSky

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