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Ohio State Quarterback C.J. Stroud Named Maxwell Award Player Of The Week

Stroud becomes the first Buckeye to earn the weekly honor since former signal-caller J.T. Barrett in 2017.

Andrew Lind

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Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud has been named the Maxwell Award Player of the Week for his performance in Saturday’s 49-20 win over Michigan State.

The redshirt sophomore from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., completed 21-of-26 passes for 361 yard and six touchdowns, becoming the first player in school and Big Ten history to throw six touchdown passes in three separate games.

Stroud’s second touchdown of the afternoon, a 69-yarder to sophomore wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, also moved him past Justin Fields for the second-most touchdown passes in school history. He now has 68 touchdown passes in his career, trailing only J.T. Barrett (104 from 2014-17).

“I think you could see in the first couple of games his movement has improved,” head coach Ryan Day said on Tuesday. “Whether it’s been out of the pocket, doing some things that are designed or not designed (like) scrambling and extending plays like he’s had to do. I think that’s been good.

“His red zone play has been excellent. When he’s had to throw the ball away, he’s thrown the ball away, but he’s also made some really good throws down there, which has led to us being successful in the red zone. Overall, I think his leadership, his vision, his accuracy, all of the above (stands out).”

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Stroud has thrown for 1,737 yards and a nation-leading 24 touchdowns while leading the Buckeyes to a 6-0 record this fall. He’s also first in passing efficiency (207.57) and yards per completion (15.37) and is considered the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy at this point in the season.

“You can see it in his attitude on the sidelines, he is not concerned about statistics,” Day said of Stroud. “I think he understands that they’re going to come, but he’s focused on one thing, and that’s winning and being a leader for his teammates.

“When you truly play like that and just have an open heart, I think it carries over to your team. Naturally, his stats are really good and he’s playing at a high level, but it’s not what he’s focused on. I think all of the guys on the team have embraced that.”

Stroud becomes the first Ohio State player to be named the Maxwell Award Player of the Week since Barrett after he completed 33-of-39 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns in the 39-38 win over Penn State in 2017.

He’s looking to become the fifth Buckeye to win the award, which is presented annually to the best player in college football, joining running back Howard “Hopalong” Cassady in 1955, fullback Bob Ferguson in 1961, running back Archie Griffin in 1975 and running back Eddie George in 1995.

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Andrew Lind
ANDREW LIND

Andrew Lind is an Ohio State beat writer and photographer at BuckeyesNow, founder of The Ohio State Uniform Database and the NCAA and NFL writer at SportsLogos.net.

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