CJ Stroud named Ohio State starting quarterback

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has his starting quarterback. Redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud will start for the Buckeyes in their season opener against Minnesota on Sept. 2.

“He’s surprised everyone with his athleticism,” Day said in a Saturday press conference. “He kept his eyes on getting better everyday, and he’s our starter.”

Despite being a younger member of the team, Day is confident Stroud has the leadership abilities to be the face of the Buckeyes.

“He’s not afraid to speak up, and that’s good,” Day said.

Stroud has in-game experience from three games last season, including from the Buckeyes’ first College Football Playoff game against Clemson. He has one career collegiate touchdown: a 48-yard run against Michigan State in December.

Stroud went 16-for-22 with 185 yards and two touchdowns in the Ohio State spring game. 

In his senior season at Rancho Cucamonga High School in Southern California, Stroud threw for 3,878 yards and 47 touchdowns. In 754 high school pass attempts, Stroud threw just 15 interceptions.

Stroud impressed in camp

The announcement does not come as a surprise as Day has previously said Stroud was the leader in the race. Day recently spoke with the Big Ten Network about what Stroud did in camp to separate himself from the pack.

“Yeah, I think it’s a body of work over 27 practices. When you count the spring,” Day said. “We try to just take it one day at a time and look at the body of work. It’s not one thing, but day in, day out, [he’s] making really good decisions, leadership. Obviously taking care of the football and the ability to win in the red zone and win on third down are critical. At the end of the day, we’re gonna have one person playing quarterback against Minnesota on September 2nd and then it’s a long year from there.”

Wide receiver Garrett Wilson commented on Stroud recently, comparing him to one very-high-level NFL quarterback. 

“I’ll say with C.J., he really drops the ball in there,” Wilson said. “The best way to put it, it’s like Russell Wilson, it falls on you, so it makes it really easy to catch the deep ball.” 

Should Ohio State need an additional quarterback, there is no shortage of talent in Columbus. True freshman Kyle McCord and redshirt freshman Jack Miller had a productive camp. Quinn Ewers, the nation’s top recruit in the class of 2022, forwent his senior season outside of Dallas to enroll early at Ohio State. He just arrived, so he did not contend for the starting position.