How CJ Stroud ESCAPED His Dark Past..

CJ strout is becoming one of the most prolific passers and most talked about rookies we have seen in years but what isn't talked about is his upbringing that challenged him in the harshest of ways from his father being incarcerated in front of him as a young child receiving death threats at Ohio State to now putting together one of the best rookie quarterback Seasons we have seen in the past 10 years this is the story of CJ stoud my real name is colid my middle name is Bernard my my last name is St overid Bernard strad IV was born and raised in Rancho cucamongo California and ever since day one he always wanted to be a quarterback and everyone knew he was a special talent when most of the kids were throwing the ball only 25 yards he was able to throw the ball twice that in high school CJ was a natural born leader and looked incredible on the field at home it was a different story the family lived in a small apartment above a storage facility and risk becoming homeless at times you know no one would take us in we didn't have anywhere to go go at one point I was going to place my kidss in different places cuz I didn't want them to be homeless you know so this was an unfortunate backdrop to the start of CJ's time at high school where he had to make do with old equipment poor nutrition and no private coaching he made up for this as best as he could including learning by watching videos on YouTube of Drew Brees these tough experiences undoubtedly proved how self-made stoud was and helped mold him into the character he is today CJ's dad Co Ridge Bernard strad III was his best friend talk me about good bad ugly sad he was always honest with me introduced me to Sports and just like any father would help in any way possible to help his son achieve his goals he was his hero and mentor and encouraging him that he could be the best at anything he put his mind to to get your confidence from your father my dad always told me I was going to be better than him he used to always make me write out a check um for a million dollars saying I was going to be the first first round draft pick in whatever sport I wanted to play in the midst of all of this his dad was battling substance abuse and this one day would change CJ's life forever I got a phone call one day out of nowhere um and he and he called me he and told me he was in jail remember just after end of that phone call I just I was angry I was mad at the world I was I was asking why I felt like he betrayed me he really didn't care about me no more in interviews CJ had said that his father was his best friend when your best friend is it basically not there anymore and now you're out there and all your friends dads are there but yours is not anymore that ru tested CJ which is why it's so difficult for him when his father was arrested when he was just 13 years old his father is still serving his sentence now and even after not talking for 8 years had a huge impact on his life in his final year at Ohio State but this situation sent the family into even more financial difficulties I used still work 12-hour days you know and um you know I would do whatever I could just to keep a roof over my children's head and sometimes food was very scarce and CJ even said that he was making terrible decisions a couple life and death situations that woke me up from what I was doing but finally he would turn back to sports to Channel all of his anger and it showed in his final 24 games of high school where he would put up ridiculous stats including 66 touchdowns in passing for over 6,000 yards after having success as a senior in becoming the fourth best recruit in California Stroud's Talent was finally noticed and he received offers from colleges like Colorado Georgia and even Michigan as a True Believer in his talent he was desperate to make get into the Elite 11 quarterback competition strad went to countless Regional camps each of those camps they picked other quarterbacks and not c not detered by rejection he was constantly calling and emailing to get more opportunities finally it paid off on they invited me oh my God his mom even talks about how CJ was a three- star recruit but was playing with four and five-star recruits and his talent didn't go unnoticed stoud was named the MV VP of the Elite 11 putting his name firmly on the map as a star Prospect an offer from Ohio State came soon after and shroud became a buckeye slotting in as Justin Fields backup in his true freshman year he had big shoes to fill when he took over the starting role in his red shirt freshman year beating out Kyle mcord and Quinn ERS to replace Fields they didn't want me at first they wanted somebody else looked at it like a challenge was like man it's like another Elite 11 situation where they deny me they deny me but now I'm going to go show them what's up but as a buckeye he went down as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in program history but would also become one of the most scrutinized quarterbacks to play there what caused this quarterback Prodigy to deliver and disappoint all at the same time in his first year as a starter his statline did not disappoint he would pass for over 4,000 yards 44 touchdowns and an insane 74% completion rate the dude was dotting however in a week 13 loss to their Arch Rivals Michigan where needless to say it was one of his worst games of his college career Ohio state would lose and miss out on the college football playoff and I looked at my phone people telling me I can't wait to you uh transfer to Arkansas State you should kill yourself all type of crazy stuff strad wood finished fourth in Heisman voting and was looking good coming into his junior year hell good doesn't even do the justice of how good that team was in 2022 nobody knew just how much Superior and insane this team would be strad became the first quarterback in Ohio State history to have back-to-back six touchdown games oh and did I mention one of them was against 11th ranked Michigan State and he had an unheard 80% completion percentage they looked Unstoppable which after absolutely dominating everybody else brings us to the biggest game of that season greatest rivalry in college sports Michigan Ohio State in front of over a 100,000 everything on the line and here we go the winner of this game was looking to have their college football play playoff birth clinched while the loser would be sitting on the outside looking in at number five early on Ohio state was looking like they would win the game having a 20 to 17 lead going into the half but in the second half they looked like a completely different team and could barely even score a field goal losing the game 45 to 27 and had their playoff dreams crushed yet again but in a wild turn of events number four USC would lose to Utah in the Pack 12 championship game allowing for CJ Stroud and the Buckeyes to sneak into the playoff now that they were in the job was set simp all they would have to do is beat the reigning Champs in Georgia and just when the lights shine their brightest CJ Stroud would rise to the occasion putting up 41 points against one of the best defenses in college football that year along with four touchdowns in over 300 yards after putting his team in field goal range to win the game nobody saw what would come next it's on the way no good he hooked it yet again CJ strad had come up short not getting to play in the game he had dreamt about since he was a kid and to make matters worse after throwing for over 8,000 yards 85 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions in his only two seasons as a starter in 2021 and 2022 he would fall short in Heisman voting finishing in third place shortly after the playoff game and the Heisman award was given out CJ received a strange phone call from out of the blue time Hill so I started forging for more so now me and my dad's relationship was a lot better I talk to him probably at least once a week try to fill him in on what's going on and he gives me advice and tells me I'm motivating him now to this day to try to make his life better and although CJ had failed to bring a national title to Ohio State he was able to rekindle his relationship with his father who he hadn't talked to in 8 years something that they had looked forward to for years off the field he had just won his biggest personal Battle of his life but on the field the draft was looming and an even bigger battle was Rising he was in high demand he was hungry get tired was 11:00 p.m. didn't want to do what he was frustrated we administered the test because we're asked to coming into the draft his physical attributes were off the chart and he was easily one of the top two picks in the draft Bryce young and shroud both had their positives and negatives coming into the draft but one thing was released before the draft that didn't help his stock I want a football player not a nuclear physicist they they they they get they getting out of hand with this stuff now as the saying goes from another Ohio State great we ain't here to play school and Stroud pass the eye test on the field with that being said after after an elite college career the Texans with the second overall pick made his dream come true and as soon as he was drafted CJ knew exactly who he would call man love you Dad I'm doing this for you what made him successful in college has translated perfectly to the professional game stoud plays with confidence and has great Poise in the pocket rookies typically struggle early in their career as they adjust to the fast pace of the NFL but there haven't been too many signs of this from roud he is processing what the defense gives him like a seasoned veteran working through his reads efficiently and delivering strikes with anticipation he simply does not look like a rookie who has only played four games in the NFL the struggles of his predecessor at Ohio State Justin Fields have been well documented this year despite being in his third season Fields still looks lost at times struggling to make the right read and hesitating when passing opportunities arise Stout already looks to be handling the typical difficulties that a rookie faces early in their careers is not displaying the trademark errors that make rookies so hard to trust his turnover worthy play percentage is just 2% which puts him seventh among quarterbacks who have played more than one game this season for context Patrick Mahomes is throwing turnover worthy passes on 3.5% of attempts and fellow rookie Bryce young is sitting at 4.5% he is yet to register an interception on the season emphasizing a level of ball protection that is impressive for a player at this stage of his career even more so when you consider that he is operating within a Texans offense that has suffered injuries along the offensive line and cannot get the Run game going Stout is putting his team on his back and helping them perform above what is expected of them he has a brilliant connection with his wide receivers good quarterbacks help their Playmakers succeed and he is doing exactly that with Nico Collins Collins is in his third season with the Texans achieving a PFF receiving grade of 65.1 in 72 in his first two years in just the four games he has been on the field with CJ strout Collins has a grade of 90.5 which is the fifth best among NFL wide receivers right now he already has 428 yards and three touchdowns and is in the midst of an impressive breakout season triggered by the arrival of his new quarterback similarly rookie wide receiver tank Dell has also had a superb start to his career after being selected by the Texans strad pushed for Houston to draft Dell after the two had clicked whilst training together at the NFL combine and their show of faith has already been rewarded with Dell logging 267 yards and two touchdowns this season in addition to the thriving on the field strout is showing signs of being a leader and an intelligent quarterback it is crazy to think that strout is already in the debate for being a top 10 quarterback he has progressed at a rapid rate through the first four weeks and can be forgiven for a shaky start in his debut against the Baltimore Ravens considering that the Ravens have one of the best defenses and are a tough draw first up since then though strout has gone from strength to strength recording a quarterback rating of 86.3 in week three and 76.5 in week four in these two games he helped the Texans secure a massive 37-7 win over their division Rivals Jacksonville Jaguars in a 30 to6 demolishing of the Pittsburgh Steelers based on these two performances alone Stroud certainly belongs in the discussion of top 10 maybe even a top five quarterback right now and that will solidify if he continues to string together these strong performance perces as it stands he is already a top 10 quarterback based on some of the most important quarterback metrics his passer rating of 100 point6 is ninth best his completions of 94 are eighth best and his passing yardage is fourth best this is no typical rookie he is the sixth quarterback to average over 300 yards in zero interceptions in his first four games adding to a list that features some pretty good quarterbacks that entire list is either in the hall of fame or destined to join it which shows just how special CJ strout is for all of these reasons CJ strout has garnished a lot of attention to open the season but is he even better than people realize why stop with the top 10 he is lifting the Texans to a level of play that nobody expected of them he is turning his wide receivers into stars and playing with the composure and skill of an experienced veteran there is already a very strong argument that shoud is already a top five quarterback in the NFL of course it is still early and there is is a long season ahead but the rise of Stroud is especially eye-catching when you consider the disappointments that have come from firstr quarterbacks in the recent Years Kenny picket Justin Fields Zack Wilson and Trey Lance are freshest in the long list of underwhelming Draft picks Bryce young has also struggled to Kickstart his career after being taken with the first overall pick this year you only have to watch Stroud's start to this season to know that he is legit from his self-made upbringing and rekindling with his father years after he was rested in front of him to now he is set to be a star in the long awaited savior of the Houston Texans

Channel: KRICH Productions

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Id: fCnzEnSsfDk

Length: 13min 40sec (820 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 13 2023