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CJ Stroud felt 'disrespected' by Quinn Ewers recruitment, re-classification

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•05/08/23•

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(Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud said he felt “disrespected” when the school brought in Quinn Ewers in 2021.

Ewers enrolled early at Ohio State, skipping his entire senior year of high school and signing an NIL deal while redshirting. The former Buckeye did not throw a single pass in 2021 and eventually transferred to Texas, where he started in 2022.

Now with the Houston Texans after being drafted No. 2 overall, Stroud took a look back at when Ohio State brought Ewers in just weeks before the 2021 season opener.

“How hard can I make it on myself to like, be better,” Stroud said on Beltway Boyz. “And Ohio State wasn’t going to be easy. I had another quarterback who came in and I knew I was gonna play early. So Justin (Fields) was a starter and I was the backup and the next year, they brought somebody else in Quinn Ewers, the Texan quarterback, was the No. 1 player, I think, ever ranked. They brought him the weekend of fall camp, which is training camp for us. And I kind of felt disrespected. I didn’t like that … They told me the day he came.”

As Stroud pointed out, he had no idea Ewers was coming out of high school and skipping his senior year. Stroud was the projected starter going into 2021 over Kyle McCord and Jack Miller.

“I definitely think everything I’ve done in my life has been earned, never given,” Stroud said. “And I pride myself on that. I think that’s why I kind of have a chip on my shoulder. A little bit. I got that dog in me just because I know I’ve been counted out multiple times.

“I mean, they brought in a guy two weeks before our first game, and I thought I was the guy that just shows you manage the business at the end of the day, and now I’m doing it for myself. I know the business that I’m in. It is in a sense, cutthroat.”

Stroud has a new challenge in the NFL as the future face of the Houston Texans. He could start right away or sit out and learn for a year, depending upon how the offseason goes.

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Meanwhile, Ewers won’t join Stroud in the NFL for at least another year. He’ll try and pilot Texas to a Big 12 championship title and College Football Playoff appearance.