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C.J. Stroud finishes fourth in Heisman Trophy vote

Jeremy-Birminghamby:Jeremy Birmingham•12/11/21•

Birm

C.J. Stroud by Birm -- Lettermen Row
C.J. Stroud will get a chance to improve his Heisman finish next season. (Birm/Lettermen Row)

COLUMBUS — C.J. Stroud has once again followed in the Ohio State footsteps of Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields.

As his quarterback predecessors did before him, Stroud earned himself a top-four finish in the Heisman Trophy vote. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young took home the award while Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett finished ahead of Stroud, who received 12 first-place votes.

A Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) product, Stroud will get another chance to win the award next season. Until then, he says he’s immeasurably proud of the chance to represent Ohio State in New York as he did on Saturday night.

“It’s really cool,” Stroud said this week. “It’s a blessing man … I never knew it would come to this, honestly.

“I am truly blessed, blessed to be around these great people. I love my teammates to death and without them I wouldn’t be here.”

Many outside observers also didn’t think Stroud would be in this situation. After struggling with a shoulder issue early in the season, Stroud turned his game around and his season outlook around. He did that, he says, by turning off the outside world and focusing instead on his teammates and himself.

“I don’t think I told anybody this,” Stroud told Lettermen Row. “But after halftime at Minnesota, I went to my phone to text my mom — I still had notifications on for Instagram, Twitter, everything. I go on there and everybody was just clowning me.”

That experience showed the young quarterback he needed to adjust this approach.

“I was like: ‘All right, this is how it is.’ I’m just going to accept my role. Of course, after the game everybody loved me again,” Stroud said. “That just showed me how wishy-washy some people are. You can’t even focus on stuff like that, because if you do, you’re going to put yourself in a hole. What I try to do is just really focus on what I’ve got going on, stay in my lane. At the end of the day, people are going to talk regardless of what I do. So, I just do that for myself, and I feel like that really helped me.”

It really helped Ohio State, too. Stroud is the fourth Buckeyes player to earn a Heisman Trophy ceremony since 2018, joining Haskins, Fields and Chase Young.

Stroud will soon head back to Columbus and begin preparing for the final game of the season in the Rose Bowl against Utah. As a kid from Southern California, he says that’s just another special touch on a special season.

“Growing up in California, being a full-fledged Cali guy, it’s definitely a blessing to be able to play in this game,” Stroud said. “I’m definitely excited … going to try and go out the right way.”

Stroud has a chance to wrap up his first year of action with more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdown passes. That’s why he earned a trip to New York and finished fourth in this year’s Heisman vote.

He will be one of the early favorites to win the award next season.

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