NFL Combine: Ohio State QB CJ Stroud Q&A

Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud put on a show at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and was one of the most highly anticipated podium media sessions amongst players in attendance.

Why do you make it a point to thank God in your opening comments during interviews?

First of all, I want to thank God for being here. It's been a dream come true. I've got to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ. That's something that was put into me at an early age with my foundation in Christ and that's something that I was inspired by other athletes growing up, and I want other kids to be inspired by me, not only on the field but by how I carry myself off the field. I think that's very important for the platform I have and the influence that I have on the world. It's something that I take really seriously and I want to be responsible while doing that, and I want to be effective in my community and I want people to look at me as a role model. That's one of the reasons why I do that.

Have you met with the Houston Texans?

Yes, sir. It went really well, I got to meet everybody in their front office and had a great conversation. They asked me some questions and I feel like I did really well in the interview process with them, and I'm looking forward to going deeper and deeper and building a relationship with them.

What do you want to convey to teams in your interviews with them?

One thing about me I want to show first and foremost is my foundation of how I am as a man, as a person. Of course, I want to show I'm a man of God and let that be known. And then secondly, I just want to show who I am. I want to be myself and be unapologetically myself. No matter what room I step in, I want to let them know that I control the room, and that I'm a leader. Then third, I want to show the IQ I have about the game. When they asked me questions about plays or different things, I let them know I am a student of the game and I'm willing to learn and I know I have a lot to learn. I do come from an offense that was high-powered and did put up a lot of points up but I'm willing to go back to square one and learn it all over again just to be great in this league. So those are three things I'll try to show.

How would you grade your football knowledge?

Coach Day and everybody at Ohio State. Coach (Brian) Hartline, coach (Todd) Fitch, coach (Kevin) Wilson, our offensive coordinator, they do a great job in our building just because it is a mini-NFL team. They make you get up on the board and make you explain the plays. It's not just them coaching you all the time. You have to be the coach on the team. That's something that I took very seriously, not only being a leader, but being that coach on the field if somebody forgot a route or somebody forgot the protection or somebody did this wrong or that wrong. I think on film you can constantly see me pointing things out, running up to dudes trying to tell them routes or (making adjustments on) plays. I think that just shows what I'm willing to do just to be great and to be the coach on the field.

How would you describe your style and skill-set as a quarterback?

I tried to describe myself as free-flowing but still disciplined. Able to take the completion when it's there, but at the same time making plays. I like to be just confident in myself. Another thing I like to do is extend plays and take the routine plays when they're routine. I don't try to press the envelope, and I think that's very important being a quarterback sometimes. You want to let your teammates know that you're not always trying to be Superman, but when you need to make that play and you can extend that play, you get a lot more respect from your teammates. So those are just things I like to do. I think I'm a playmaker. I think I'm very creative. And I think I'm smart when it comes to protections and things like that because I solve a lot of issues before they're even there. That's something I pride myself on. And one thing about me, I think I'm a ball-placement specialist. I like to be very accurate. I don't want my receivers to have to do really anything to catch the ball. And I think I've shown that time and time on film.

Was the Georgia game the best game of your career?

Yeah, everybody kind of highlights that game, but for me I think you can put on my film, and I think I've been the best player in college football two years in a row, and I think I've consistently done that. Honestly, I think I haven't even touched my potential yet. I think I have a lot more to get better at. I have a lot more to prove not only to y'all but to myself. And that's something I plan to do because I honestly don't think that I even got close to anything in college. So I'm excited to see what I'll do in the NFL.

Who are some of the quarterbacks that you admire?

Growing up, one of the reasons I wore number seven was because of Michael Vick. He inspired me not only just to be athletic and use my athleticism but as a black quarterback to stay in the pocket and throw. That's something he was very underrated in. I looked up to Deshaun Watson a lot. That's somebody I have a similar playing style to. And then Joe Burrow, being able to create. Not being the fastest guy, but being a guy who can extend plays and throw guys off view and just be tough, and that's something that I feel like I do in this game.

Have you sought out any advice about the draft process?

I've had a lot of conversations with older veterans. I remember a conversation with Larry Fitzgerald I had up in Arizona at the Super Bowl. And he was basically telling me the confidence piece about it, just being really confident in yourself and really being a student of the game. Not being too cool for school, going in there and controlling that team from all the way from rookie minicamp and I think that's how it starts because I don't think you can build a dynasty or build something like that without a good foundation. That's something that I want to do when I come in, is being a leader and of course not demand respect but earn it, build trust off the field and be a leader not only on the field but off as well. So that's what I plan to do.

How do you respond to the criticism about your lack of athleticism and running ability?

I'll be honest, I told them like I'll tell y'all. I didn't do it a lot in college and I feel like I should have. It's something I do regret. I feel like I could have done it a lot more. But I think when you turn on the film and you really watch what I do, and you really look at film game to game, I have used my athleticism not only just in the Georgia game where I did it a lot. I've done it in every other game. I've had tough third-down runs. I've had tough fourth-down runs. But there were times I didn't run the ball when maybe I should have. I feel like that's something that I learned and that's what football is about. It's about stepping back up to the plate and going back and working hard and fixing those problems. That's something I plan to fix and I'll show them my athleticism. I've done it before on film, but since people don't think I can do it, I'm going to do it again.

What are your thoughts on Justin Fields playing so well despite taking a beating this year?

Yeah, I was proud of him, man. There's so many times you get knocked back down, but I feel like a true man's character is when you get knocked down how do you get up? And he's gotten up every time and he stepped up to the plate. And he hasn't blamed anybody. He hasn't pointed fingers. As a human, that just shows you what type of man he is and what type of family he comes from. So just knowing him as a person, that's really cool. Because it's hard, man. You get hit so hard, so many times hard in the face. You have to make plays with your feet and he ain't no damn running back. He's a quarterback and he can sling that rock. So I'm going to stand up for my brother every time and he's going to do great things in his career, and I'm excited to play with him.

Can you elaborate more about that Georgia game?

That was one of those games, I felt really, really healthy. I was dealing with some hamstrings. But you can't use any excuses if you lose games. That's what matters. You can't lose. But one thing that kind of motivated me was just honestly people thinking that we couldn't play as a team anymore. They didn't think that Ohio State was meant to be in the playoff, and that's something that I took to heart because we're the Buckeyes. We were going to show that, and I feel like we did even know we did lose, we let everybody know who we are. We don't turn down no fade. We're going to look you in the eye and will hit you in the mouth. That's something we did for four quarters and we've got to just finish those last five minutes off. But shoutout to Georgia. They're a great football team, but I think we proved who we are not just (me) as a player but as a program.

How hard was the decision to turn pro?

I was honestly going to come back to school. It was really hard for me to leave a place like Ohio State where it takes time to get to where I was at. It takes a lot of heart and a lot of trust-building and a lot of camaraderie off the field. It's something you can't just throw in the trash right away. I don't feel like I did that. Coming into the league was a smart decision for me, I feel. But it was really hard. Of course, not beating that team up north and not winning a national championship were two goals of mind. And of course not winning the Heisman was I feel because of those losses. That kind of hurts. I feel like I could have won back-to-back Heismans, if I win those two games. But I think it's part of God's plan and I don't question that. It put a little more fire on me, put another chip on my shoulder. So I'm excited to go to the league and do better things than that. Because that wasn't God's plan so let's see what the league has got for me now.

Who helped you with your passing accuracy?

That's something I kind of grew up doing. In youth ball, my coach - his name was Tojo Munford - he forced me to stay in the pocket. He forced me to be accurate. My high school coach, coach (Mark) Verti, used to do little bubble screens and if I didn't hit the top shoulder, I'd do 10 push-ups or little small things like that, so it forced me to be accurate. Not only just on deep shots, but like on those bubble screens, on slants, on outs, being quarterback-friendly to my receivers is something I pride myself on.

Would you consider yourself to be a traditional pocket passer?

If you watch my film, I think I can show the balance. But when dudes are open, you feed your guys the ball or they look at you like you're crazy when you walk back to the sidelines. If you're open, you're going to get the ball. I think it's something that that that I'm good at too - and I'm not trying to toot my own horn - but I throw guys open, and that's something that I think is rare, because at the league, dudes aren't wide open and I think I've done that in my career where guys aren't wide open, but I try to throw 'em that way. I try to throw them down. I try to throw them out. I try to throw over his shoulder and things like that, because separation is not always going to be there. So that's something that I pride myself on. Sometimes I get so I think I get so invested in the read because you spent eight hours on one play, I guarantee you you're not going to just go 1-2-run, you're going to go 1-2-3-4 and really try to figure out who's open. You want to feed your guys the rock, man. Everybody you know at Ohio State I played with from year one to year two are extremely hard workers, and I want to feed them. I want them to eat just like I am. So that's something that I pride myself on, but when it's time to dip my shoulder and go get that first down or something like that. I'm willing to do that too.

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