Ryan Day talks growth of CJ Stroud throughout spring practice

With the spring officially coming to a close, Ohio State football coach Ryan Day is pleased with quarterback CJ Stroud. The Buckeyes held their annual spring game Saturday, as more than 60,000 fans watched the offense beat the defense 34-26.

Stroud played just five series in the first half to finish 14-of-22 passing for 120 yards and a touchdown. He completed passes to eight different receivers, and his lone score was a 29-yard connection with Jaxon Smith-Njigba. At the conclusion of the game, Day praised Stroud for the improvements he has made this spring, including his ability to read a defense.

“I think CJ’s been very consistent,” the coach said in a post-spring game press conference. “He’s very competitive and I think one of the things he’s done a great job of recently is taking what the defense gives you. Jim (Knowles) does a really good job of changing up looks and he has times where’s he’s gonna drop eight and say, ‘You have the check the ball down.’ As a quarterback, especially someone as competitive as CJ, he has to force himself himself to say, ‘OK I’m gonna take what the defense gives me. Take the check down and get five of six yards and move on.’ I think he’s learning through that, and that’s been great. His leadership is excellent. He’s had a very, very good spring. He wanted to get back in there on the last drive. That’s just the way he is. He’s one of the more competitive I’ve been around.”

touchdown, buckeyes 💯@CJ7STROUD to @jaxon_smith1#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/ry5k1KcM5j

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 16, 2022

Entering his third year in Columbus, Stroud is coming off of a breakout season in 2021. In his first year as a starter, the redshirt freshman finished with 4,435 yards passing, 44 touchdowns and six interceptions. He was named one of five finalists for the Heisman Trophy and finished fourth in the voting. Stroud also set the program record for completion percentage and helped Ohio State finish as the No. 1 offense in the country with 561.1 yards and 45.7 points per game.

Needless to say, it’s going to be difficult for Stroud to get much better than he was this past season. He also loses two talented receivers in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave to the NFL, making the path to improvement even harder. The good news is that Smith-Njiba, the team’s leading receiver with 95 catches for 1,606 yards, is back.

After making back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff during Day’s first two seasons, the Buckeyes were left out last year. They instead made a trip to the Rose Bowl, earning a victory over Utah. As Stroud enters 2022 with a year of experience under his belt, he’ll hope to lead the Buckeyes back to the Playoff.

OSU is set to open the 2022 season with a big-time matchup against Notre Dame on Sept. 3.