C.J. Stroud Shouts Out Buckeyes After First NFL Win

Ex-Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud credits his preparedness to his time with the Buckeyes.

This past weekend saw the NFL's Week 3 come and go, bringing with it some special moments for at least one player. 

Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, a former Ohio State snap taker, notched his first professional win Sunday, leading Houston to a 37-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was a brilliant showing from Stroud, who's now one of the top candidates for Rookie of the Year early on in this season.

Houston made Stroud the second overall pick in this past April's draft, and it looks like they have their quarterback of the future in the former Buckeye. The rookie's thrown for over 900 yards and four touchdowns so far, not to mention having not given up an interception. 

In Sunday's defeat of Jacksonville, Stroud went for 280 yards and two scores, leading the Texans to their first W of 2023. When speaking to the media postgame, he credited his alma mater with preparing him for the league's stage.

"Coming from Ohio State, man, the pressure element is on every week," Stroud said. "The preparation I put in college, I almost kind of did as I have gone to the league. Every week, my routine is kind of the same. I've tweaked things here and there, but everything has kind of been like I did in college, the hard work that it takes."

Stroud also took time on Sunday to shout out some of his former teammates and congratulate the Buckeyes on their win over Notre Dame this past Saturday. "For me, I mean, I come from Ohio State," Stroud told reporters. "Go Bucks, man. They got the dub [Saturday] in a hard-fought win. Kyle McCord: my dog. All those boys on the defense, man."

Before finishing up his media availability, Stroud mentioned that he talked his former head coach Ryan Day revealing that Day "said some things to me that he used to always say to me when I was at Ohio State that just resonated." 

That's not the first time Stroud's gotten Day's advice, and likely won't be the last.