Columbus fans weren’t exactly scared by Kyle McCord’s split with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

In his lone season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback in 2023, McCord faced plenty of criticism, even if it wasn’t entirely justified.

McCord is now the quarterback for the Syracuse Orange and Will Howard has taken his place for the Buckeyes.

Fortunately for McCord, his early days at Syracuse were a great success, leading the Orange to a 2-0 record and playing phenomenal football in September.

But McCord hasn’t forgotten the raucous fans in Ohio.

When asked about Buckeyes fans this week, the former Ohio State quarterback delivered a rather strong message.

“I appreciate all of them,” McCord said, via Ehsan Kassim of The Columbus Dispatch. “I’m still an Ohio State fan.”

The 22-year-old added that he still knows the Buckeyes’ roster well.

“I have a lot of friends that are still on the team,” McCord said. “I still talk to a couple of the coaches. I still cheer for them. I cheer for those guys. I appreciate the fans because I’ve met a lot of great people in the community that still reach out to me and support me, and that’s awesome. From my side, there’s nothing but love for the Buckeyes.”

Last season, McCord threw for 3,710 yards, 24 touchdowns, and six interceptions while completing 65.8 percent of his passes. Despite leading the Big Ten with 9.1 yards per pass attempt, it wasn’t enough for Ohio State, and he transferred to Syracuse after the 2023 campaign.

In his first two games with the Orange, McCord has totaled 735 yards, eight touchdowns and an interception while completing 69.4 percent of his throws.