Football is a team sport, but it was easy to point the blame at two people in Ohio State's third straight loss to Michigan: Head coach Ryan Day and starting quarterback Kyle McCord. Day is looking more and more like 21st century John Cooper by the day, ruining yet another Thanksgiving Weekend for the fine folks from the state of Ohio. As for McCord, he was misevaluated coming out of high school.
McCord is a fine quarterback, but level of competition and being in the 2021 recruiting class during the height of COVID certainly masked some things. I will give Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline a ton of credit in trying to cover up some of McCord's inefficiencies at quarterback, but they were unfortunately exposed in the one game Ohio State can never afford to lose. That was The Game.
Although I would contest that McCord should be exponentially better entering his second season running the Ohio State offense, he has been on campus for three years already. Simply put, Ohio State is too talented and there is too much pressure on Day to let another year go to waste because of insufficient quarterback play. It is why they have to at least see what the transfer portal could offer.
If Ohio State were to take a gander into the ole transfer portal, here is replacements they could land.
Ohio State football: 3 transfer portal QB replacements for Kyle McCord
3. Will Howard helped Kansas State win a Big 12 Championship a year ago
Will Howard putting his name into the transfer portal out of Kansas State was interesting. He was part of the 2020 recruiting class out of Downingtown, Pennsylvania for K-State. While he did not have the longest runway leading the Wildcats under center, he played an important role in helping K-State beat the then-undefeated TCU Horned Frogs to win the Big 12 title bout to go to the Sugar Bowl last year.
Truth be told, Kansas State was going to the Sugar Bowl no matter what happened vs. the Hypnotoads in Arlington around this time last year. However, there were certainly moments over the last few seasons where Howard showed some of that necessary dynamism to extend plays for the K-State offense that McCord struggles to at Ohio State. Howard transferring is all about Avery Johnson.
Johnson is the quarterback prospect EMAW Nation has dreamed of since the peak Collin Klein years. He is a homegrown talent from Wichita, and a dual-threat playmaker to boot. Frankly, it was only a matter of time before his talent outshined Howard's in Manhattan. Simply put, if Ohio State wants a better veteran college quarterback with a tad more explosiveness, they should give Howard a call.
Howard being a proven commodity at K-State could help Ohio State have a mental edge vs. Michigan.
2. Will Rogers deserves an elite opportunity after Mississippi State mess
I do not know how good the fit would be, but I would like to see it come together anyway. As of Wednesday morning, Will Rogers is one of the best quarterbacks to have entered the transfer portal. The last great Mike Leach quarterback had an up-and-down last season at Mississippi State playing for the defensive-minded Zach Arnett. After seeing Arnett let go, Rogers entered the transfer portal.
Rogers may be a Mississippi native, and could be intrigued by the offense Jeff Lebby wants to run now that he has taken over in Starkville. However, I think he needs to do more than set every career passing record in SEC football history to get a serious look as an NFL Draft prospect. Aaron Murray threw for all the yards at Georgia, but was a fifth-round pick. Dak Prescott was a day-three pick, too.
This is where Ohio State comes into play. Rogers would be running something slightly more pro-style in Columbus than he ever did in Starkville, albeit against lesser competition for the most part. If he shines in the Scarlet and Grey like former SEC quarterback Justin Fields did before him, we are talking about Rogers finally getting his due as a college football great and a possible Heisman Trophy finalist.
Rogers may end up staying at Mississippi State, but the allure of this Ohio State offense is palpable.
1. Tyler Van Dyke and Ohio State would be a perfect match for each other
This is the one that Ohio State should seriously consider. Will Howard could be a better, albeit temporary, solution for their Kyle McCord ails. Will Rogers could be something like Justin Fields 2.0 in Columbus. But you have to look at Tyler Van Dyke at Miami and think that this could be special. It was not that long ago that Van Dyke had the looks of a top-10, first-round pick quarterbacking the Canes.
To me, he needs to leave Coral Gables and receive some phenomenal quarterback coaching. There are few head coaches I would trust with a quarterback more than Ryan Day. Factor in all the receivers Brian Hartline will be able to pull in, and I could see Van Dyke being the inverse of Joe Burrow for the Buckeyes. If he plays up to his potential, we are talking about the best quarterback in the Big Ten.
It is not apples to apples, but Van Dyke leaving Mario Cristobal behind could be like Justin Herbert playing for an offensive mind at any level that knew what on planet earth he was doing. Both quarterbacks are insanely talented, but you just want to see them linked up with an offensive-minded head coach who wants him to sling it. Van Dyke in Day's offense would be goodnight for the Big Ten.
Van Dyke's native Connecticut is not in Big Ten country, but it sure isn't in ACC country either, man.
