Ryan Day shares why CJ Stroud is on track for successful NFL career

As a 2022 Heisman hopeful coming off of a very strong season with Ohio State, CJ Stroud appears to have all the makings of an NFL quarterback. Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day says he has the components to be one of the “greats” even, as Stroud continues to combine his mental acuity with his physical skills.

“When you’re in meetings and we talk about things, you start to see it happening fast and quick at the same processing level as a coach would see it, that’s when you have something really special,” Day said. “That’s what separates the great ones in the NFL. When you look at the Brady’s, the Rodgers’, the Brees’, those guys, Russell Wilson, they’re like coaches. They see it like coaches because they study so much film. There’s not much difference there. When you have someone who can process at a really high level and also has the athleticism to be able to perform and make the throws.”

Stroud still has at least one more year left before he can declare for the draft, but he’s getting plenty of NFL exposure. He threw passes to his former teammates Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave in front of scouts at Ohio State Pro Day. Like  Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase or Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle, Stroud may someday throw to one of the former Buckeyes again at the next level.

“It’s a good opportunity for CJ to go through it and just see what that’s like and feel it so when he’s there next time, he’ll be a maybe little more comfortable,” Day said of the Pro Day experience.

Stroud practicing with new prototype helmet

As Ohio State continues spring practice, Stroud stands out from the crowd with a unique prototype helmet design which the Buckeyes are currently experimenting with during the offseason. While the timetable for a potential debut of the new design remains unknown, the testing process could help make football safer.

During a press conference, Ryan Day spoke about what he has heard regarding CJ Stroud’s prototype helmet and how Ohio State embraces the future with experimental technology.

“I don’t really know a whole lot about it other than just what I’ve been told,” said Day. “They’re always trying to figure out different ways to protect our players and sometimes you like to get feedback from the players on what they see. From what I’ve seen, there’s certainly a wider vision from the facemask. But I know that they try to get that – same thing with some of the cleats – we’ll give a couple guys a couple different pairs of cleats to see how that reacts to their feet and those type of things.

“Guys are always trying to find different ways, and we’re always trying to find different ways to keep our guys safe. So we’ll get some feedback here from those guys on what they think.”

On3’s James Fletcher contributed to this report.