Thoughts on Former Ohio State Quarterback C. J. Stroud

By Jessica A. Johnson

When I watched former Ohio State quarterback

C.J. Stroud overcome with emotion after he was selected as the second pick of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans, I posted this reaction on one of the 11 Warriors’ Twitter feeds: “When God takes the weight off your shoulders!” Truly, Stroud was weighed down by attacks on his football acumen due to a leaked S2 cognition test score. The S2 test measures how prospective players process information in game speed, and many NFL teams use it as an important assessment for quarterbacks. The day before the draft, Stroud expressed that he believed the leaking of his S2 results was deliberate. In the end it didn’t matter, as Stroud became the highest drafted quarterback in Ohio State history.

As Buckeye nation knows quite well, the sports narrative doubting the abilities of Ohio State QBs has been par for the course in recent years. During the 2021 draft, Justin Fields experienced the media spreading similar misgivings about his dedication to his craft and fell to the 11th spot where the Chicago Bears traded up to get him. Fields and Stroud have an incredible opportunity to change the trajectory of OSU quarterbacks in the league. Stroud’s extraordinary journey to the NFL has included personal hardship along with the extreme criticism of his tendency not to scramble for yards, the latter being the main gripe from many Buckeye fans during his two-year tenure in the scarlet and gray. Yet, we witnessed Stroud coming full circle as a quarterback when he used his legs against Georgia in last season’s Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinals. He has impressed new Texans’ head coach DeMeco Ryans in rookie minicamp and is in a solid position to compete for the starting QB spot.

For me as a Buckeye fan, the most touching moment of Stroud’s draft experience was when he was asked what he would bring to his new team. Choking up a little, Stroud said, “I bring me. I bring a man of God. I bring a leader.” I pondered those stirring words, “I bring me,” from a young man who was never handed anything in his life. A young man who was almost homeless growing up in Southern California with his mother and three siblings. Those moving words, “I bring me,” indicate that Stroud knows everything God has brought him through has equipped him to meet each challenge he will face as a pro. Stroud is bringing his spirited heart, grit, toughness, and resilience to the NFL. He will forge his own path fueled by his faith, and I’ll be cheering him on every step of the way.