Houston Texans' C.J. Stroud Looks To Overcome Ohio State QB Narrative

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has taken the league by storm in his rookie season as he looks to break an old trope.

Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has become arguably the NFL's biggest story in just his first few career games.

Stroud, the No. 2 pick in April's draft, is off to one of the best starts for any quarterback in league history. Through nine games, the rookie sensation has completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,626 yards and 15 touchdowns with only two interceptions. As the Texans have shocked the league and currently hold the AFC's final wild card spot, Stroud is not just the best rookie quarterback in the league, but even a dark-horse MVP candidate.

To some, the most surprising part of Stroud's success isn't the fact that he's only a rookie or the Texans rebounding after three years of misery. Instead, it has to do with him coming from Ohio State, a titan of the college football world whose quarterbacks haven't found success at the NFL level. 

Texans QB C.J. Stroud :: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Buckeyes have yet to produce a Pro Bowl signal caller, but even as Stroud is on track to shatter that old narrative, he isn't paying it much attention. Stroud makes a throw during a road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 24.

"Stories have been written about Ohio State quarterbacks that aren't necessarily true, and for me, that's fine," Stroud told ESPN. "It's my job to go out there and prove that wrong and try to prove that we're getting prepared the right way at Ohio State."

Stroud is just the fourth Buckeyes quarterback to be drafted in the first round, following Art Schlichter (1982), the late Dwayne Haskins (2019) and Justin Fields (2021). None of those quarterbacks even come close to what Stroud is doing in his rookie season.

It also helps that Stroud's coach, DeMeco Ryans, didn't put any stock into that narrative when the rookie sensation fell into his lap.

Ryans Reveals Why Texans Picked Stroud Despite S2 Score

"Every player is different. ... You get quarterbacks that come from all over the place. It's not about one school," Ryans told ESPN. "They talked about Alabama quarterbacks for a long time, and now it's like one comes out every year.

"It is more about that player and that person than it is about pinpointing a school."

In his time with the Buckeyes, Stroud threw for 8,123 yards, 85 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while finishing as a Heisman Trophy finalist twice. With the high level of competition he faced, Stroud feels that his college career prepared him for his current success despite the old storyline surrounding Ohio State signal-callers.

"I was well-prepared coming from Ohio State," Stroud said. "It's a special place. "I feel like Ohio State is a mini NFL team -- the attention that we get, the fan base that we have, all the critics that we get -- things like that. It definitely helped me a lot."