Ohio State’s season began Saturday night with a win against Notre Dame — and quarterback C.J. Stroud firmly in the spotlight.
Much is expected of the No. 2 Buckeyes this year, and of Stroud, who threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. He entered last season as a redshirt freshman not having thrown a collegiate pass and became a Heisman Trophy finalist after throwing for 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns.
By any objective measure, his season was a rousing success. Yet until the Rose Bowl victory over Utah, Stroud didn’t truly feel comfortable. For one thing, his shoulder ached throughout the season.
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But it went beyond that. As a first-year starter feeling his way, Stroud believed he had to stay inside a certain box of how Ohio State quarterbacks are supposed to be.
Now he’s ready to become the full C.J. Stroud, on and off the field. Coaches and teammates rave about his leadership skills. His shoulder is healthy. A national championship and Heisman Trophy are realistic aspirations.
But Stroud’s overriding goal is a simple one.
“To be me,” he said. “To be 7. To be the guy God called me to be. I just want to be confident. I want to be myself. I don’t know if that’s the answer people want to hear, but that’s how I feel.”
That includes sharing his life story for the first time. It’s one of family, loss, faith and perseverance.
C.J. Stroud gets tough love at home
Coleridge Bernard Stroud IV was born with the athletic gene. Jim Thorpe, perhaps the best American athlete of the first half of the 20th century, is a distant ancestor on his mother Kim’s side of the family. C.J.’s father, Coleridge III, was an athlete, as are his two older brothers, Isaiah and Asmar.
Basketball was C.J.’s first love, and truthfully still is. When he was little, he would line up two Little Tyke basketball hoops at the ends of a hallway. He’d dribble to one hoop, shoot, and then do the same at the other basket.
When he got a little older, he’d play with his brothers on the outdoor hoop in front of their spacious home in Rancho Cucamonga, California, which is in the Inland Empire region an hour east of Los Angeles. C.J. is 7 years younger than Asmar and 8 years younger than Isaiah, so the results were predictable.
“C.J. would always run in crying, ‘They’re dunking on me,’ ” Kim said with a laugh. “They never gave him a break − poor guy.”
His sister Cieara, who’s 3 years older, didn’t go easy on him, either.
“I would say I was a tough sister,” she said, also laughing. “We would joke around a lot, and I would also make sure that he could fend for himself.”
C.J. is grateful for the lessons his siblings taught him.
“They weren’t always mean,” he said. “They were very supportive when it was me against somebody else, but me versus them, it was very one-sided. They were always right. I was always wrong. But sometimes taking L’s are the best way to learn. That’s where I got my sportsmanship from and my competitiveness, as well.”
C.J. was tireless. When he got done playing basketball, he’d grab a football and catch and throw about 200 passes inside the house with whomever he could get to throw with him. Usually, it was his dad.
“His father was his best friend,” Kim said. “His father was someone that C.J. could turn to for anything.”
C.J.’s father had overcome imprisonment for a drug conviction and armed robbery about 20 years earlier to become a pastor and successful executive for a communications company. He delighted in helping coach C.J., traveling as far as Florida for AAU basketball tournaments. Cieara said her father was the first person who tabbed C.J. to be a quarterback.
Coleridge made a shirt for his son that said, “First round, first draft pick.” He wrote a mock $1 million check and told C.J. that he’d cash a real one someday.
C.J. Stroud’s father goes back to prison
It was an idyllic early childhood, but that comfortable life would end. Coleridge resumed using drugs, and his life spiraled downward. He and Kim divorced. In 2016, Coleridge was convicted on charges including carjacking and kidnapping and he was again imprisoned. He is an inmate at Folsom State Prison in northern California. He is eligible for parole in 2040.
“He’s a very good man, but he made his choices, and unfortunately that took away his freedom,” Kim said.
C.J. has been reluctant to speak about his father’s story publicly. But he knows his story can be an inspiration for kids facing similar circumstances.
“I feel I’m an advocate for those young teens or young people trying to live for themselves, even if they don’t have a father figure at times,” he said.
C.J., now 20, is grateful for his father’s involvement in his early life. He said he’s the biggest reason for his faith in God.
“People slip up,” he said. “People make mistakes. As I’m getting older, I’m realizing how tough it is to be a man – not only a man, but a Black man in our communities. Even though it sounds crazy, it’s the truth. A lot of the positive things that Black men do in our communities are frowned upon. It’s ‘cool’ to be the dude from the hood. My dad taught me it’s cool to be the other guy, to be the leader, to be the first man in line to put your best foot forward.
“Even though I sometimes didn’t always follow his plan when he left because I was angry, I still hold those near and dear to my heart. That’s why I think I thrive now at this age, just understanding that doing the right thing is the right way and letting God lead your life is the best way. That’s what I learned from my father.”
C.J. still talks to his father, but on a limited basis.
“Even though our relationship isn’t where it should be or it hasn’t been since I was 10 years old,” he said, “I look at the positive more than the negative.”
Hard times for C.J. Stroud’s family
With Coleridge gone, Kim had to support her family by herself. A property manager, she moved her family four times into homes considerably smaller than the one they’d had. Eventually, Kim managed a storage-unit property and lived in a house on-site.
“It sucked,’ C.J. said of his family’s financial downturn. “But now it teaches me that money really doesn’t matter. Money really isn’t an object to me because it can be gone in the blink of an eye, which I think is a positive (thing to understand).”
Sports became even more of an outlet for C.J. as he reached adolescence. He blossomed into a star point guard in basketball and his gift for throwing a football was obvious.
But his family’s finances precluded him from having a private quarterback coach or going to many of the camps and competitions that enhance a prospect’s recruiting status.
“We had a lot of support from a lot of different coaches on travel-ball teams,” Kim said. “It took a village. Because he was so talented, there were so many people that kind of rallied around him and kept him involved. There were times where I couldn’t pay for certain equipment that he needed, but they would give C.J. the equipment anyway. But it was a hard time for C.J. from seventh grade into high school.”
As a freshman at Rancho Cucamonga High School, Stroud was one of seven quarterbacks on the roster. The battle went down to him and Nick Acosta, a junior. Acosta prevailed.
Acosta would prove to be a good quarterback, leading Rancho Cucamonga to an undefeated regular season. But Stroud believed he was the better quarterback and didn’t hide it.
“He had his days he was not too happy, because he wanted to play,” said Rancho Cucamonga coach Mark Verti. “He’s a very competitive person.”
Stroud remained a backup to Acosta his sophomore season. Transferring was never seriously considered. Stroud enjoyed being the point guard on the basketball team, even sinking a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win a playoff game. He also was an honor-roll student. Kim didn’t want to uproot him just for football.
“Too much change in a child is hard,” she said.
Stroud finally got his chance to start as a junior and took advantage. Verti marveled at Stroud’s preparation as much as his passing ability.
“Hours and hours and hours of film every week on the opponent,” Verti said. “He’d be like, ‘Clip 27 against this team. Look what they’re doing.’ He likes the thinking part of the game.”
He said Stroud earned the freedom to call audibles. Almost always he switched to a better play. Sometimes Verti let Stroud call plays for his backup in blowout wins.
Stroud’s success as a junior earned him some Pac-12 scholarship offers and a spot in the West Coast stage of the Elite 11 competition.
“Honestly, I went in there with no confidence,” he said. “I thought, ‘Everybody else there is better than me.’”
They weren’t. He advanced to the national competition and won MVP honors. Instantly, his recruiting blew up, attracting programs such as Ohio State.
“I was like, ‘Damn, this is for real now,’ ” Stroud said. “That was my first big, big offer.”
When he visited Ohio State, he said the relationship among players was different than at other schools. He wanted to be a part of that brotherhood. Even though the Buckeyes already had quarterback Jack Miller in its 2020 recruiting class, Stroud committed to OSU.
C.J. Stroud had ‘bumpy’ relationship with Ryan Day
The first year of college is seldom easy for an Ohio State player, especially a quarterback. He has so much to learn, and the expectations are steep. Ryan Day climbed the coaching ladder coaching quarterbacks, and he is tough on them.
“Very firm, very strong, not forgiving,” Day said of his approach. “If you can get past that and push through that, then you’ve got a chance to be a really good quarterback. But it’s not easy. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.”
The COVID-related restrictions and isolation made the adjustment much harder.
“It was bumpy at first,” Stroud said of his relationship with Day. “I ain’t gonna lie. I don’t think I liked him and he didn’t like me.
“But I wasn’t going to be denied, and I wasn’t going to run from it.”
Stroud said he has never disliked hard coaching, but it took time for Day to figure out how to connect with him. Day agreed.
“I think sometimes when you have a little conflict, it can build glue,” Day said. “It can build a bond, just laying it all out there where things are at. Because this is a tough profession. You can’t live in fantasyland. Sometimes, you’ve just got to get real.”
Stroud didn’t throw a pass as a freshman as a backup to Justin Fields in that shortened 2020 season. Stroud won the battle with Miller and freshman Kyle McCord to succeed Fields last year.
Stroud’s relationship with Day grew stronger during training camp in 2021. Stroud impressed his coach with his competitiveness and preparation, just as he did with Verti in high school.
The season opener on the road against an experienced Minnesota team provided a stiff test. Stroud threw for only 58 yards in the first half and threw a costly interception as the Golden Gophers took a 14-10 lead into intermission. In the locker room, Stroud glanced at his phone.
“People are killing me,” Stroud said. “At the time, I didn’t know how to react.”
Day did. He reassured him.
“He said, ‘I don’t give a damn what just happened. We’re going to go out here and kick their ass,’ ” Stroud said.
Stroud threw four touchdowns in the second half, and Ohio State rallied for a 45-31 win. But Stroud sustained a separated AC joint during that comeback. Up next was Oregon.
“I didn’t practice the whole week,” Stroud said. “I was out there running around, (but) I just couldn’t move my shoulder.”
On the Thursday before the game, Stroud received what he believes was some divine intervention. Art Hall, the father of Stroud’s high school teammate and current Atlanta Falcon defensive back Darren Hall, hosts a weekly Bible study on Zoom. Stroud logged in, with ice and a stem machine on his shoulder, dejected that he was looking doubtful to play. Hall told Stroud that he needed to be thankful to God.
“I didn’t understand,” Stroud said. “I’m like, thank him for what, for getting me hurt? Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t being defiant to what God was trying to do. I was just confused. This is the biggest game in my life. Luckily, I listened. The whole night I’m praying, thanking God for supernatural healing.
“The next morning, I felt movement in my shoulder, and I threw the next day. I swear that if I didn’t pray or he didn’t explain that to me, I would have never played in that game. That’s why I believe in Christ so much because things like that happen.”
Ohio State lost to Oregon despite Stroud throwing for 484 yards and three touchdowns. But Stroud’s shoulder hurt so much the next week against Tulsa that he sat out the Akron game before healing enough to play the rest of the season. Stroud threw for at least four touchdowns in five of Ohio State’s final eight regular-season games to become a Heisman finalist, finishing fourth.
But he was still feeling his way on and off the field.
“I don’t believe in pressure, but I didn’t know how to cope with the responsibilities of being an Ohio State quarterback,” Stroud said. “It took until the Rose Bowl game that I played a full game 1) healthy and 2) with confidence. I didn’t play the whole season with my confidence of that kid from the IE (Inland Empire) that people know when they see him walk on the court or the field that he’s going to do something. I didn’t play with that type of swagger until the Rose Bowl. I think it was maybe just me being home and feeling that Cali air and seeing some familiar faces.”
Stroud threw for six touchdowns and 573 yards in leading Ohio State to a 48-45 comeback win over Utah.
C.J. Stroud is a perfectionist
Stroud believes 2021 can be merely a prelude.
“Now I feel I’m the most confident I’ve been with just being myself at a place like Ohio State, where the quarterback is right under LeBron James (in stature) in Ohio,” he said. “Just being wholeheartedly yourself, unapologetically, is the best way to go in my life. That’s my mindset now. It wasn’t last year.”
The Buckeyes will likely go as far as Stroud – and their revamped defense – will take them.
“You see it with his confidence,” said star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, one of Stroud’s closest friends on the team. “People are going to listen to him, and he’s speaking up. He’s more mature. He wants to win. We’re all fired up. He’s a competitor and no one wants to win more than him. He wants to bring that to the whole team and spread it out.”
Kim Stroud said that C.J. is a perfectionist, as is she. She would fly to games last year with one or more of C.J.’s siblings. Afterward at his apartment, they had to wait until C.J. watched and dissected the game on video.
“It was over an hour, and I’m like, ‘Can we eat?’ and he says, ‘Hold on, I’m almost done,’ ” Kim said. “He would watch every play that he felt should have gone better.”
C.J. believes that’s what gives him the edge he needs.
“I’m not the biggest, fastest (or have the) biggest arm,” he said. “I’m talented. Don’t get me wrong, God definitely gave me talent. But I think what separates me is the mental aspect of the game.”
Stroud expects similar dedication from his teammates and isn’t afraid to be vocal about it.
“It’s been kind of new for us,” Smith-Njigba said. “Not that Justin (Fields) didn’t do it. But C.J. is really on guys, pushing us to perfection. He doesn’t always have a great day. No one does. But he holds himself to that standard. When you see your QB doing that – we all see him as the best quarterback in the country – we’re going to hold ourselves to that.”
Part of what Stroud believes makes him an effective leader is his empathy. He can identify with teammates who come from well-off backgrounds and those from disadvantaged ones. He can relate to those who’ve lost or never had a parent. He knows what it’s like to have to wait for a chance to play.
“I don’t ever judge anybody (because) I don’t know what you’ve been through,” Stroud said. “There’s no point in me looking at somebody and turning a blind eye to whatever they’ve been through. I always try to get people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe sometimes that doesn’t lead me to always having the best relationship with people because some people do take advantage of that.
“But I definitely think I’ll never change. People used to look at me and see, ‘Oh, that’s C.J., the dude who had his dad in his life and had money.’ But people didn’t know what I was going through.”
Thanks to name, image and likeness rights established last year, Stroud has been able to earn money from his status. He has been generous with his earnings. He has treated teammates to meals at his apartment where his macaroni and cheese gets rave reviews. Last week, Stroud gave $500 gift cards from a local clothing store to every teammate to buy a suit to wear on game days.
C.J. Stroud’s drive pushes him to greatness
The once-rocky relationship between Day and Stroud is now airtight. It transcends a typical player-coach one. That’s in part because of a shared connection. Day lost his father to suicide when he was 8 so he knows what Stroud endured.
“We’ve had conversations about that, and what that means to our lives,” Day said.
That kind of loss can cause a person to crumble or strengthen his resolve.
“I think it made him stronger going through those tough times,” Day said. “I just have so much respect for him as a person, and I’ve really gotten closer to him over these years because of who he is, and when I see what kind of big heart he has for his teammates.”
As a coach who made his reputation developing quarterbacks, Day appreciates Stroud’s talent – his obviously gifted arm, the toughness to take a hit to make a throw, his ability to anticipate what defenses are doing.
“Certainly, he has ability, but that’s not what makes him special,” he said. “It’s who he is as a person. It’s his drive to want to be great. It’s unique.”
Day says that Stroud’s intelligence and preparation allow him to dissect the game almost as a coach. He can take what’s discussed in the meeting room and easily transfer it to the field because he knows it cold.
“I say that all the time, ‘If you come into the building and you haven’t done the work on your own, then you’re way behind,’ but he does the work,” Day said.
The expectation is that this will be Stroud’s final year with the Buckeyes. He is projected to be a top NFL draft pick in 2023.
All of that will take care of itself, Stroud believes. He just wants to savor the rest of his time in Columbus.
“At first, I didn’t like Ohio State,” Stroud said. “I wanted to go home. But it’s a special place. They tell you that when we walk in, the older dudes. You don’t really listen to them. I really feel that now.
“I feel the special community and the people of Columbus, and I just want to enjoy that before it’s all over with. I don’t know if I’m leaving next year or not. I’m not against coming back for my senior season. But whatever God’s plan for my life is, that’s what I’ll do. I just want to enjoy it – and win, too. Beat the team up north, win the Big Ten championship, win the national championship.”
Whatever happens, Stroud cherishes the perspective he has gained through the ups and downs of his life through his relationship with God.
“His plan was for me not to have a quarterback coach, not to have my father in my life, and to go through certain things,” he said. “I trusted in him. If you live your life like that and try to wholeheartedly understand that you’re not in control and you acknowledge that he is, that’s when peace comes. That’s where I’m at now. Honestly, I didn’t start getting peace until after last season. Now I’m actually peaceful with myself.”
