Kyle McCord portal entry could unfortunately shuffle Nebraska football’s deck

Nebraska football now has an unexpected potential rival for some of the targets the Huskers are pursuing in the transfer portal.

Just when it looked like the Nebraska football coaching staff had laid its cards on the table as far as who it was pursuing at quarterback, a wildcard got thrown into the deck. With Kyle McCord entering the portal, it appears there needs to be a reshuffle.

It’s not that the former Ohio State quarterback makes much sense as a target for the Huskers. He doesn’t have the running ability Marcus Satterfield and Matt Rhule seem to covet. This also isn’t a Joe Burrow situation where McCord is a legacy recruit dying to come to Lincoln after being turned away once before.

No, this might be worse than making the mistake of turning away a talented quarterback who went on to be among the best to play the game in his generation. At least in the short term.

McCord’s entry into the portal means the Nebraska football team suddenly has competition it didn’t expect for the best transfer quarterbacks on the market. If someone like Will Howard is looking to go to a school looking for a veteran presence, that is ready to win right now, the Buckeyes instantly start looking more attractive.

Nebraska football’s work just got harder

There is of course, the possibility that the Huskers and Buckeyes just aren’t going to be playing poker at the same table (to keep the cards metaphor going).

For one thing, Ohio State has several younger quarterbacks it might be looking to hand over the keys to. They could also be looking for a bigger name. Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel just entered the portal, that might be more their speed than Will Howard.

If nothing else, the entry of Kyle McCord changes the game a bit for Nebraska football. Monday morning found that there are more players with more chips (read NIL money and playoff shots) to push to the middle of the table. Where the Cornhuskers are now as a program, that’s not a positve.