Ryan Day addresses rumors that CJ Stroud considered returning for 2023

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback CJ Stroud declared for the NFL Draft on January 16. His decision may have seemed like a no-brainer to some based on the success he had in Columbus and his status as one of the top quarterbacks in the country. But apparently it wasn’t for Stroud, as Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day spoke on the rumors of him making a possible return to OSU prior to declaring.

“I won’t speak for CJ, I know that there was a lot of back and forth for him,” Day said. “He loves his teammates and he loves Ohio State, and he took a long time to try to balance it out to figure out the positives and the negatives and all those types of things.”

Stroud’s love for Ohio State and his teammates was worn on his sleeve throughout his career, as the Buckeyes’ captain also led them to a 21-4 record as a starter during his career. He was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, Big Ten Conference offensive player of the year, and quarterback of the year during his career at Ohio State. And Day along with many others have their eyes on him to see if he can bring similar success to an NFL franchise.

“I’m excited for his future, I’m excited to see how this thing shakes out the next couple of months and what’s the next step for him,” Day said.

Stroud has an outstanding career at Ohio State, throwing for 8,123 yards and 85 touchdown passes in his two seasons as a starter. Success and numbers like that surely made a return to Columbus an interesting avenue worth considering, especially in the new era of NIL.

“But again you’ll have to ask him, I’m sure making that decision wasn’t easy, he took about as much time as he could and was really thoughtful in the process and I thought he was very thorough,” Day said.

Only Stroud will know how close he was to a return to school, but his final performance as a Buckeye was a memorable one that certainly elevated his draft stock. The Buckeyes didn’t get the win, but Stroud threw for 348 yards and four touchdown passes against an elite Georgia defense, while also showing a new heightened level of mobility.

Mel Kiper Jr.’s Mock Draft 1.0 had Stroud projected as the first quarterback selected in the 2023 Draft selected by the Houston Texas with the No. 2 overall pick, but only time will tell which NFL franchise he’ll call home in April.