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Ohio State

CJ Stroud explains how he remains poised while on the run

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•09/23/22
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C.J. Stroud by Matt Parker -- Lettermen Row

In his second season at the helm of the Ohio State offense, Buckeye QB CJ Stroud is learning when and how to effectively use his feet out of the backfield. And against Toledo last weekend, Stroud had a great opportunity to experiment with his running ability.

Stroud only ran for nine yards on two carries last Saturday, while accumulating 367 yards and five touchdowns through the air as part of a 77-point outburst by the Buckeyes. However, despite the low usage in the ground game, Stroud did say afterwards he liked toting the rock a couple times.

“Yeah, I appreciate you pointing out that I ran a little bit. It felt good to get hit a little bit,” Stroud said. “Not gonna lie, I probably could have did a little more, kind of caught me off guard. But definitely think I did the right thing by pulling the ball on that play and then had to scramble on a couple other ones.”

Stroud then went on to reminisce on his childhood days, where he learned how to scramble while playing backyard ball with friends.

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“But I definitely think just this repetition, kind of growing up just playing in the backyard back home in Cali(fornia). Just with my boys. Just back back in the backyard just playing whatever, you know what I’m saying,” Stroud said. “I definitely think that you build that that kind of, like, knack for the game.”

Lastly, CJ Stroud explained how he and head coach Ryan Day have planned for him as a runner.

“And then you continue to grow. So Coach Day does a good job doing like seven on seven in certain periods, where we have what we call scramble drill where we just try to make a play happen. But at the same time, he advises me to be smart,” Stroud continued. “And one of those I threw away just because I knew that he would probably be mad if I tried it. So definitely just try to be a team player in those aspects. Just, if i can make a play, make one. But if not, just throw it away and be smart.”

Scrambling obviously isn’t Stroud’s main strong suit. However, even the most immobile of QBs needs to know when to tuck and run, when to throw it away and when to try and make a play.