Welcome to your daily Buckeye Blitz for Tuesday, January 17th, 2023. Today, we’ll be discussing CJ Stroud and his recent decision to enter the NFL draft. While the NIL Collective was trying to raise money for him, it appears he ultimately decided to enter the draft, where he will likely sign a contract worth 20 to 30 million dollars in just a few months.
I’d like to take a moment to reflect on CJ Stroud’s time at Ohio State. He’s been through a lot, including some tough losses, but I want to express my gratitude and say thank you to him. Despite never playing with a defense to support him, CJ has accomplished a lot during his time at Ohio State.
Let’s take a look at some of his accolades. Two years ago, he was a second-year redshirt freshman with no pass attempts. In 2021, he suffered a shoulder injury, which caused him to miss a game against Akron. However, he has still managed to become one of the top quarterbacks in the country, and is arguably the best, with Bryce Young being the only one who may have an edge over him.
CJ has been a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, Ohio State’s only two-time finalist. He’s also been named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Quarterback of the Year two times each. Additionally, he was a finalist for the 2022 Walter Camp Player of the Year, Maxwell Award, and Davey O’Brien Award. This past year, he was a second-team All-American. As a starter at Ohio State, he went 21-4 and set 16 Ohio State passing and total offense records, as well as three Big Ten records. He’s the first quarterback in Big Ten history to have back-to-back seasons with 30 touchdowns or more. In the Rose Bowl, he set five records for passing yards, touchdown passes, total yards of offense, TDS points, and points responsible for. In 2021, he was also honored as Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Week and named Freshman of the Week five times and seven times, respectively.
On behalf of Buckeye Nation, I want to express our gratitude to CJ Stroud for his contributions to Ohio State football. He’s been a great Buckeye and an even better person. Go Bucks!