PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers are expected to be contenders to land one of the most established and productive quarterbacks available in the transfer portal during this recruiting cycle.

According to Bookies.com handicapper Dan Kilbridge, Pitt has the sixth-highest odds to land former Ohio State signal-caller Kyle McCord coming out of the transfer portal at +1,200 and he gave the Panthers a 7.7% chance to add the former Buckeye to their quarterback room.

ACC rival Miami leads the pack with a 33.3% chance, followed by Kentucky (22.2%), Rutgers (16.7%), Mississippi State (15.4%), and Auburn (9.1%). Oregon sits behind Pitt with a 4.8% chance of earning McCord’s commitment and the field is at 9.1%.

In his first season as a full-time starter, McCord brought the Buckeyes right up to the cusp of the Big 10 Championship Game and possibly even the College Football Playoff.

McCord completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions while Ohio State ran up a 12-1 record, with their one loss coming on the road to a Michigan team that has yet to lose this season and enters the postseason ranked No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

As of right now, the Panthers have retained all of their quarterbacks eligible to return to school next season. Pitt will lose Phil Jurkovec, the graduate transfer who opened the 2023 season as the starting quarterback and ended it as a reserve tight end and special teamer. But Nate Yarnell and Christian Veilleux, plus Ty Deiffenbach, are expected to return as well.