CJ Stroud praises family, friends for keeping him grounded at Ohio State

After winning the starting quarterback job last season, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in college football while staying grounded. As one of the top prospects for the next level, he thanks his friends and family for keeping him where he needs to be at all times.

During player availability at spring practice, CJ Stroud thanked all those friends and family who keep him grounded at Ohio State.

“Just being grounded in my faith and having a good support system and good foundation back home, and then here as well,” said Stroud. “I just try to lean on God. And God has humbled me in these – he’s shown me humility. Different things like that, that I’ve been through in my life, has shown me that you don’t want to boast all the time because then he’ll humble you. That’s something I’ve learned.

“My mom always teaches me to be humble, ever since I’ve been a baby. Pops has done that as well. My brothers, my sisters – being the youngest out of a group of five – they kind of pick on you. That shows you to be humble as well. I definitely got that a little bit, so shout out to my brothers and sisters for that.”

Stroud then went on to discuss his relationship with his friends and family.

“My sister doesn’t ever give me the benefit of the doubt,” said Stroud. “Every time she sees me, she calls me a big moose and all different types of names. But I appreciate it, it feels good to not get praised by everybody. … That’s why I enjoy going home, I enjoy being around buddies, I enjoy being around my homies back home. They definitely always – we roast all the time – we have fun.”

Ryan Day on CJ Stroud

During a press conference earlier this week, head coach Ryan Day spoke about CJ Stroud’s progression and how he continues to move toward becoming an elite quarterback.

“It’s like standing on 315 North sometimes, cars buzzing by you,” Day said, referring to Stroud’s performance at Student Appreciation Day. “When you do 7-on-7 or you’re throwing routes on air, that’s – when we do our Pro Day out here and the quarterback’s just throwing to one guy, ok it’s fine – but that’s not football. Seven-on-seven is not football. What you saw up close and personal is football.

“I think when people say, ‘does he have it?’ They usually talk about the quarterback position. That’s part of it, just understanding what’s going on, being able to stand in there with poise and process all that’s going on when you’ve got 21 other guys on the field at that time. And that’s part of playing the position, it’s hard to teach.”