Ohio State redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud (7) prepares for the snap during the Ohio State-Oregon game Sept 11. Ohio State lost 28-35. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Taking over for legendary Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is no easy feat, but redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud has excelled in his early tenure as Ohio State’s signal caller.
Through two games, Stroud has taken over the position and made it his own while earning two-consecutive Big Ten Freshman of Week honors. Although Stroud already has a loss under his belt as the starter, head coach Ryan Day said the team’s early-season issues don’t lie on the shoulders of his young quarterback.
“We got to help him more. We got to run the football better. We got to play better defense,” Day said Tuesday. “That’s the bottom line.”
Stroud entered the season without a collegiate passing attempt, but Day has relied heavily on his young quarterback in the Buckeyes’ first two games. The Empire, California, native has racked up 76 attempts — 54 coming against Oregon — in his pair of starts.
With a heightened workload, Stroud has completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 778 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
Sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba — one of Stroud’s favorite targets against the Ducks — pointed to his competitive fire as a reason for his early success.
“C.J. has a big heart and he’s a competitor,” Smith-Njigba said. “He’s going to keep going, we’re going to keep going. I know he has my back. I have his back.”
While Stroud has been effective through the air so far, he’s failed to fill the dual-threat void left by Fields.
Through two games, Stroud has just 10 rushing yards on eight attempts.
Although Stroud has struggled to effectively impact the ground game thus far, the skills are there. In his freshman campaign, Stroud broke free for a 48-yard touchdown run against Michigan State — showing that he has the running ability to help in that area.
Despite Stroud’s struggles in the running game, Day said he thinks the 6-foot-3, 218-pound quarterback has done a sound job with his legs.
“I think he’s got a pretty good feel in the pocket. He is a threat with his feet. He’s a threat with his legs,” Day said. “He’s had some good scrambles. We’ll continue to build on that as time goes, but at the end of the day, our running backs have to run, our O-line has to block. There’ll be times when we want to read somebody with him. He’ll do a good job of it.”
Against Oregon, the Buckeyes had no problem moving the ball between the 20-yard lines, but struggled to put points on the board off of those drives. Converting on fourth downs was a major issue; Ohio State went 2-for-5 on fourth-down attempts against the Ducks.
Stroud said it’s on him as the leader of the offense to complete those drives with points rather than loss of possession.
“To begin the game, I felt like we came out strong, got the ball moving. Kind of the whole first half, everytime we got the ball past the 50-yard line, we split the field. We just weren’t getting into the end zone,” Stroud said. “Definitely something that we need to fix execution-wise because I feel like if we put more points up, we might’ve won the game. Definitely on my part, I have to be better.”
The young quarterback has also dealt with an ailing shoulder over the past couple of weeks, and even called it a “blessing” that he was able to play against the Ducks.
While the nagging shoulder has been an issue for Stroud, Day said it just comes with the territory of playing quarterback.
“You’re going to have bumps and bruises. I think when you’re playing in the spring or you’re in preseason and you have a black jersey on, you’re never touched. Then, you go out there in conference play or this game this past weekend; you’re going to get banged around a little bit. Justin (Fields) went through that, all these guys. J.T. (Barrett) went through that a ton,” Day said. “That’s part of being a quarterback at a big-time level. It’s something he’s going to have to get used to and work through.”
Looking ahead, the Buckeyes close out their nonconference schedule with tune-up games against Tulsa and Akron before digging into a difficult Big Ten slate.
Although an early loss has knocked Ohio State off track, it was not a fatal blemish. The Buckeyes still have the opportunity to make the College Football Playoff if they’re able to run the table.
Looking to make a one-loss College Football Playoff run, Stroud said it’s his job to get the Buckeyes back on track.
“Practice has to be better. On my part, we have to be very precise on everything,” Stroud said. “On my part, I have to make sure that the offense is as sturdy as possible and we have to be on point with everything.”
