When CJ Stroud entered Ohio State in the class of 2020, he had a question on his mind.
“How hard can I make it for myself to get better?” Stroud, who spoke on The Beltway Boyz podcast, recalls wondering that.
And with the Buckeyes, Stroud knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
Ohio State Offense Projection: Projection of Ohio State Football’s offensive depth chart after the spring transfer window closes
Stroud joined Ohio State as the No. 2 pro quarterback in the country behind Clemson Commit and current Oregon quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, joining the roster along with four-star players Jack Miller III, both of whom sat behind starter Justin Fields in 2020.
Stroud beat out both Miller Kyle McCord and Quinn Ewers for the starting quarterback job in 2021, finished the season as a Heisman Trophy finalist and led the Buckeyes to a Rose Bowl win over Utah.
“They brought in Quinn Ewers, the Texan quarterback who I think was the best player that ever ranked in high school,” Stroud said. “They brought him something like a weekend at fall camp, which is a training camp for us, and I kind of felt disrespected. … That did not please me.”
Stroud said the Ohio State coaching staff didn’t tell him about Ewers’ reclassification and arrival in the 2021 class until the day he came on campus. In 2021, Ewers took the field just once for the Buckeyes and gave up the ball twice at the end of Ohio State’s win over Michigan State.
Ewers moved to Texas after one season with Ohio State. After a season as a starter for the Longhorns, Ewers has 16 touchdowns and six interceptions and throws for 2,177 passing yards with a 58.1% completion rate.
For Stroud, who would be a Heisman Trophy finalist again in 2022 before being the No. 2 overall pick for the Houston Texans in the 2023 NFL draft, that’s the mindset he maintains at every football stop after first playing in his Junior high school year has started school.
“I think everything I’ve done in my life has been earned and never given,” Stroud said. : And I’m proud of that. I guess that’s why I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I have that dog in me just because I know I’ve been counted multiple times.”
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This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: CJ Stroud felt “disrespected” following the arrival of Ohio State Football’s Quinn Ewers.
