C.J. Stroud describes how adversity early in Ohio State career better prepared him for NFL
Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is rewriting the history books just four games into his NFL career.
After throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns in the Texans’ 30-6 Week 4 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Sunday, Stroud surpassed Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes for the second-most yards through four starts to begin a career. With 1,212 yards, Stroud trails only Cam Newton, who threw for 1,386 yards in 2011.
His immediate success, which has been unlike what you typically see from rookie quarterbacks, can be attributed to his time at Ohio State, when he faced adversity early on during his first season under center in 2021. Speaking on “The Pat McAfee Show” Thursday, Stroud said he encountered death threats after his first couple starts with the Buckeyes.
Stroud faced his fair share of hard times, but came out of it and is now on his way to potentially winning the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
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“Those first couple games of my career [at Ohio State] were really hard on me,” Stroud said, via Saturday Tradition. “I went through a lot, got a lot of harsh comments, death threats. At the time I didn’t know what I was going through, but God was putting me through a process where He was trying to put that callus on me, make sure I was tough enough to be ready, prepare me… I would never go back and change anything.”
C.J. Stroud focused on proving himself right
Stroud ended his Ohio State career throwing for 8,123 yards and 85 touchdowns. Despite a prolific career, Stroud still received some negative pre-draft buzz. Stroud isn’t concerned with doing anything but showing out for himself and his supporters. That’s because, in his eyes, those who may criticize him don’t know the position he’s in to begin with.
“For me, I don’t try to prove anybody wrong. I want to prove myself right and people who believe in me right,” Stroud said. “If you try to prove everybody wrong? You’ll be sleepless, restless because everybody is always going to have something to say. And I always tell people everybody knows how to be an NFL quarterback, an offensive coordinator – be who we are every day.”