Ohio State redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud (7) stands with teammates during Carmen Ohio after the Ohio State-Tulsa game Sept. 18. Ohio State won 41-20. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Three games into the season, No. 10 Ohio State has had an up-and-down start to filling its void at quarterback.
In just his second-career start and first in Ohio Stadium, redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud threw for the second-most passing yards in a single game in Buckeyes history. He earned back-to-back Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards, but threw for just 188 passing yards against Tulsa for the fewest against a nonconference opponent since 2017.
But Stroud is playing with one underlying wrinkle: he said his throwing shoulder is “definitely not 100 percent.”
“It hurts, but I mean –– life hurts,” Stroud said. “Winning is tough. I just have to grind through it. That’s just playing football. You’re never 100 percent after that first game. I just thank God that I was even allowed to play this game, to even be healthy enough. Yeah it’s tough, but I feel like I’m a tough guy a little bit.”
Stroud owns a completion percentage of 62.4 percent through three games. It’s visible that some of his misses have come on overthrows, short passes or off to the side of his targets, but he’s still made throws of 61, 41 and 20-plus yards.
Head coach Ryan Day provided an explanation as to why Stroud continues to play through the amount of pain he says he’s in, citing the fact the gunslinger is keeping up with the pace.
“Everybody works through different injuries and different sorenessess and things like that,” Day said. “He’s been practicing well and he’ll continue to do so.”
During the preseason, Stroud was limited and sometimes held out of practices occasionally to rest his shoulder and arm. The 6-foot-3 quarterback has also said getting tackled by opposing defenders — something Stroud hadn’t experienced much previously — has taxed his body.
Day said he’s seen Stroud connect on well-thrown passes and is confident enough to continue keeping him as the starter so he can continue to learn the offense.
“There’s still a lot of good going on,” Day said. “Throw over 400 yards, I mean, he’s played well. He’s going to miss some throws, but he’s learning and he’s growing. It’s his third start, so we’ll keep building from there.”
The Buckeyes are still searching for balance on offense, though. Despite over 200 yards both through the air and on the ground against Minnesota, Ohio State ran for less than 130 yards against then-No. 12 Oregon and didn’t eclipse 200 passing yards against the Golden Hurricane.
Stroud admitted Ohio State hasn’t struck a perfect balance offensively — but once the Buckeyes find it, he believes there are big things in store.
“I feel like we’ll be the best offense in the country if we can do that. We have great receivers on our side, our linemen are huge and they move people and great pass protection,” Stroud said. “Our tight ends are great; our running backs are great. Once we execute at a high level and every single play we’re going 1-0, I think we’ll be OK.”
Executing the offense is Stroud’s priority, and getting the Buckeyes’ wide receivers into the mix would accomplish both that and finding balance.
Preseason All-American and junior Garrett Wilson, who caught a team-high 70 yards and hauled in the lone receiving touchdown against Tulsa, emphasized building chemistry with Stroud to help the offense gel more. Wilson said that doesn’t just happen in practice, though.
“With C.J., we knew it was going to be reps to get that chemistry down fully,” Wilson said. “It takes game reps to get there.”
Stroud said each game has served as a learning experience for him. Nagging aches and pains likely detracts from those opportunities, but Stroud has capitalized on chances to make plays. His 35 pass completions against the Ducks stand as the second-highest total in a single game in program history.
Even with criticism surrounding Stroud and Ohio State’s play, Stroud said he’s going to drown out negativity by doing one thing: keeping faith.
“I’m only 19 playing as a redshirt freshman. It’s no excuse, but I still have a lot of football to learn,” Stroud said. “I feel like I’m getting better and better every week. I know a lot of people probably don’t agree with that, but that’s OK. I have a God-given talent. Every time I go out there, I give my blood, sweat and my tears. If that’s a problem with the media or whatever, it is what it is.”
