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JD PicKell: Why having an 'edge' at QB makes all the difference for CJ Stroud, Ohio State

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•07/29/22•

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A year ago, CJ Stroud had never thrown a collegiate pass. Now, with a full season at Ohio State and a fourth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting under his belt, he could be in for a big season in 2022.

Ryan Day thinks so — and that’s why On3’s J.D. PicKell is excited about the strides Stroud can take this year.

During Big Ten Media Days, Day said Stroud had an “edge” to him this offseason. That means he’s growing as a leader after a strong redshirt freshman campaign that saw him throw for 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns. PicKell said that’s a huge part of Stroud’s development.

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“It’s one thing to be the quarterback. It’s another thing to be ‘the guy,'” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “And Ryan Day has a couple interesting quotes that told me some positive things about CJ Stroud’s maturation process. The first thing to me was Ryan Day said that CJ Stroud, this past offseason, has had an ‘edge’ to him. And that fires me up, man.

“Anytime you can talk about somebody having an ‘edge,’ I nine times out of 10 will say that’s a good thing. Especially at quarterback. … Going from ‘the quarterback’ to ‘the guy’ are different things. And I think having an edge is a part of being ‘the guy.'”

JD PicKell: ‘I want my quarterback to have some Ronnie Bass in him’

PicKell then compared Stroud to a character from the movie “Remember the Titans” — citing one scene as a reason Buckeyes fans should be excited.

“I want my quarterback to have some Ronnie Bass to him,” PicKell said. “‘Sunshine’ from ‘Remember the Titans.’ … There’s a clip in that movie where the starting quarterback goes down, [Coach says], ‘Ronnie Bass, you’re in.’ Ronnie Bass walks in the huddle, he says, ‘What’s going on, wimps? You seen a football before? Let’s go.’ One, that was cool. Two, he goes, ‘Hey. Let him through,’ talking about the defensive lineman that just hurt the starting quarterback. He says, ‘Let him through.’ … They let him through, drop back to pass, throws a completion and then just sideswipes the defensive lineman and hurts him.

“That’s an edge, folks. That’s the quarterback I want leading my team. I understand that Ronnie Bass hasn’t played football in a really long time. That’s the kind of quarterback I want leading my football team, the kind of guy I’m going to follow. The kind of guy that if there’s a fight breaking out, I want him on my team. That’s the kind of leadership I want from CJ Stroud, and it sounds like — we’re expanding quite a bit here on the term ‘edgy’ — but you could’ve used a lot of other words to describe your quarterback. And to use the word ‘edgy’ that he has an ‘edge’ to him this offseason, that’s a really good thing and that’s the kind of guy that people are going to follow.”