Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud reunited at Heisman Trophy ceremony: 'It's super special'

NEW YORK — Not long ago, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud were merely SoCal quarterback prospects with big dreams. Young, a five-star recruit out of Mater Dei, and Stroud, a four-star quarterback out of Rancho Cucamonga, shared a passion for playing in college, an elite work ethic, a friendship and a hope that one day, they’d both make it to the highest level.

Fast forward to Friday. Young and Stroud, both in their first seasons as starting quarterbacks for Alabama and Ohio State, respectively, have done more than make it to the next level. They have proven to be the best at the next level.

Young and Stroud were named finalists for the Heisman Trophy, and with the ceremony returning to an in-person setting in New York, they seemed thrilled to share this moment together. What made it so sweet, however, is not just that they’ve reached the same destination, but that they shared the same journey.

“To be able to share this weekend with (Stroud),” Young said at the Heisman Trophy press conference in New York, pausing his speech to smile, “it’s super special for me.”

Young was a five-star recruit and the No. 1 quarterback in his class via On3 Consensus, ranking slightly above Stroud. He first committed to USC, then later switched his commitment to Alabama. It’s only taken one season as starter for Young to become a household name in Tuscaloosa. He’s thrown for 4,322 passing yards and 43 touchdowns in 2021, all while leading Alabama to an SEC Championship win and No. 1 seed in the College Football playoff, making him a heavy favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. On Friday, Young explained why being a Heisman favorite just seems even more meaningful with Stroud there to share the moment.

“I’ve known CJ for a minute now. It’s crazy because, in high school, he was a little later as far as getting all the rankings and offers. I guess nationally, he kind of popped up a little later,” Young said in New York Friday. “But for me, as someone who’s been around him a lot, being from SoCal and knowing the landscape of everything that was around there in general — it was kind of new to everyone else there, but I had kind of seen that he’s been performing like that, and he’s been a great player like that for as long as I’ve known.

“It was something that, for whatever reason, it took later in everyone else’s eyes, but for me, I’ve known the type of player he is, the type of person he is.”

Young sang high praise for Stroud, the fellow SoCal product, whose development may have taken slightly longer as a high schooler. In the end, though, the result was fairly similar — Stroud was ranked a four-star prospect via the On3 Consensus, and he was two spots below Young as the No. 3 quarterback in the class.

“It wasn’t really a surprise to me,” Young said of Stroud’s meteoric rise in recruiting rankings. “It was kind of just like everyone else ended up catching up.”

Stroud in 2021 has put together quite an impressive campaign, too, leading Ohio State to a Rose Bowl berth — a game that, as a California native, Stroud labeled “a blessing that I’m definitely going to take advantage of” — with 3,862 passing yards, 38 touchdowns and just five interceptions. His best performance came in a lopsided, 56-7 victory over Michigan State, a game in which he had a potential Heisman Moment by completing 32 of 35 passing attempts for 432 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. That performance, similar to what he’s done for most of the year, was enough to earn Stroud a spot next to his SEC Championship-winning friend, despite not making it to the Big Ten Championship himself.

“That’s like my brother,” Stroud said of Young. “I have respect for his game, he has respect for mine. We just kept building it from there.

“We really kept in touch ever since college, and we call each other every single week and check on each other. That’s like my brother.”

Young and Stroud have competed against each other nearly their whole lives, and now they compete on the biggest stage. Only one can go back to California in the offseason as the Heisman Trophy winner.

“I wanted the best for him in his life,” Stroud said of Young. “But I’ve got to go live mine. So, I don’t really want to focus on what he’s doing. I want to focus on me working hard and getting my job done.”