Paul Finebaum baffled by QB Kyle McCord’s transfer to Syracuse: ‘I thought he would land at a major school’

Syracuse, N.Y. — During an appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Monday, the network’s sports TV and radio host Paul Finebaum called Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord’s decision to transfer to Syracuse football “utterly perplexing,” according to multiple reports.

A clip of Finebaum’s comments, which were made to SportsCenter host Shae Peppler, is not easily accessible online.

“I thought he would land at a major school, but Syracuse is an utterly perplexing decision,” Finebaum said. “It’s a program that, frankly, doesn’t have a great past of coming back quickly. I appreciate him getting an opportunity, but a year ago this guy was considered a can’t-miss and now he’s going to Syracuse. It’s weird.”

McCord announced his commitment Sunday following an official visit this past weekend. He had entered the transfer portal Dec. 4.

Syracuse introduced Fran Brown as its new head coach that same day, replacing Dino Babers, who the school fired Nov. 19 for failing to meet a 7-5 benchmark established entering the season.

McCord visited Nebraska early last week but decided against committing to them and look at more schools.

A New Jersey native like Brown, McCord is a four-star transfer and the No. 11 quarterback in the portal so far this cycle according to the 247Sports Composite. He threw for over 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns as the Buckeyes went 11-1 in the regular season.

McCord will replace Garrett Shrader, who’s out of collegiate eligibility after five seasons and is planning to pursue an NFL career.

Syracuse has landed six players out of the transfer portal so far, including one other four-star transfer in Texas A&M defensive edge Fadil Diggs.

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