St. Joe’s Prep’s Kyle McCord is a ‘sleeper’ in the NFL draft after impressing Jon Gruden on his ‘QB Class’ series

After having Downingtown West standout Will Howard on last week, Jon Gruden welcomed Mount Laurel native and former St. Joseph’s Prep star Kyle McCord onto the fourth episode of his rebooted Gruden’s QB Class.

McCord had a record-setting final college season which included setting a new ACC record for passing yards in a season, leading Syracuse to a 10-3 record, and finishing as the NCAA’s leader in completions (391), attempts (592), and passing yards (4,779).

In the 50-minute episode, Gruden talked with McCord about his history with Syracuse coach and Camden native Fran Brown, his three seasons at Ohio State, and more. Here are some highlights from the episode:

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“I love winners, and this guy wins,” Gruden said of McCord in his introduction. “He won big in high school, he won big at Ohio State, and he came into Syracuse and turned that program around. … I got a feeling this guy can go a long way, man.”

McCord, who led St. Joe’s Prep to three straight state titles, sat two years behind C.J. Stroud before taking the reins in 2023 as Ohio State’s starting quarterback. He played with Marvin Harrison Jr. in high school, and the pair teamed up at Ohio State before Harrison became the 2024 draft’s No. 4 pick.

In his lone season starting for the Buckeyes, McCord finished with 3,170 yards, which was the seventh-best mark in school history, and 24 passing touchdowns. Ohio State went 11-2, and McCord learned plenty of lessons along the way.

“The biggest thing for me was, one, taking what the defense was giving me,” McCord said. “And trusting your eyes, there’s never going to be a perfect read or a perfect play.”

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Among the high points for McCord’s 2023 season was leading Ohio State on a game-winning, 15-play touchdown drive against Notre Dame.

But the low point was a 30-24 loss to rival Michigan in the regular season finale, when McCord finished with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Still, Gruden was impressed with McCord’s performance that game and didn’t put the full blame on the South Jersey native for his turnovers.

“You lost the [Michigan] game, really, on a couple of interceptions. … One of them was a receiver has got to cross face, the other, you get planted in the ground,” Gruden said.

“Going on from Year 1 to Year 2, I would make a big improvement” at Ohio State, McCord said he thought. But he instead entered the transfer portal before the team’s bowl game after it went in another direction at quarterback. There’s no hard feelings for McCord, even as the Buckeyes won a national championship with Howard at the helm.

“I was happy for them. I think it worked out for me going to Syracuse, and it obviously worked out for them,” McCord said. “I think it was one of those rare instances where both parties benefited from it.”

McCord landed at Syracuse through a previous relationship with Brown. Teara Brown, Fran’s wife, and McCord’s father, Derek, worked together while she was in school training to be an anesthetist. Teara recalled hearing about Kyle from her brothers, and Derek would show her videos of his son, a young quarterback playing for the Pennsauken Youth Athletic Activities football team.

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That connection led McCord to Syracuse and opened the door for the quarterback’s big 2024 season. Gruden likened McCord’s playing approach to a main character in The Walking Dead.

“Rick Grimes, he just cuts people up,” Gruden said. “That’s kind of how I feel when I’m watching you. You are really after blood when you play quarterback. … You’re a really aggressive, Rick Grimes badass.”

McCord finished with at least 300 passing yards in 12 of 13 games last season and averaged 45.5 pass attempts per game. Gruden appreciated McCord’s willingness to be aggressive taking downfield shots while instilling belief in his teammates.

The highlight of McCord’s season was leading Syracuse to a 42-38 upset of then-No. 8 Miami in the regular season finale. McCord finished with 380 yards and three touchdowns to put an exclamation point on his bounce-back season in upstate New York.

“This [win] validated coming to Syracuse,” McCord said. “It was kind of a full-circle moment for me, going from Ohio State and losing the last game of the year to going to Syracuse and winning the last game of the year, it was pretty sweet.”

Using the University of South Florida’s football facilities, Gruden and McCord also worked through concepts the former coach taught the quarterback during their session. From check downs to scramble drills, McCord was tested on how quickly he could pick up NFL-level concepts.

In the end, Gruden was impressed with McCord’s huddle command, communication with new receivers, and his confidence.

“I think McCord is a sleeper in this draft,” Gruden said to close the episode. “The buzz I hear, he’s going up a lot of people’s draft boards.”