While the Ohio State transfer quarterback visited the fellow Big Ten school, Pete Nakos of On3 reported he “will be moving forward with his recruitment, keeping his options open and looking at another batch of schools. The Huskers will not be in the mix.”

Nakos noted there was a time when it seemed like Nebraska was the “favorite” to land McCord, but that is no longer the case.

McCord is one of the most prominent players in the transfer portal for multiple reasons.

For one, he was a 5-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings. He was also the starting quarterback all season at Ohio State, which is not a position players traditionally leave when they occupy it.

He led the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record, which would be good enough at almost every other program. However, the loss came against archrival Michigan, which left the Scarlet and Gray outside of the Big Ten Championship Game and College Football Playoff.

McCord threw two interceptions in that game.

It is a testament to just how high the bar is at Ohio State that his season can now be seen as a big-picture disappointment, but he was also following in the footsteps of recent Heisman Trophy finalists in Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud.

McCord may not have lived up to the standard that trio set working under Ryan Day, but he is still a talented quarterback with plenty of big-game experience. Some teams in need of a starter at the position will surely reach out to him, even if it won’t be Nebraska moving forward.

As for the Cornhuskers, highly regarded recruit and Georgia verbal commit Dylan Raiola is set to visit the program ahead of signing day.

Convincing Raiola to join Nebraska and not the powerhouse Bulldogs would be far more than a consolation prize for missing out on McCord.