COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When CJ Stroud of Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) High School came on an unofficial visit to Columbus to watch Ohio State football’s 34-10 win over Michigan State, he did so with full knowledge that he held an offer from the Buckeyes.
He’d been in constant conversation with passing game coordinator Mike Yurcich and senior quality control coach Corey Dennis up to the moment he arrived. He didn’t want to make the offer public until he got on the plane to head back to California.
“I don’t ever really post my offers right when I get them,” Stroud told cleveland.com. “I like to soak on them a little bit and think about the questions I’m going to be asked about it.”
At the top of the list of the questions for a player who could be the Buckeyes’ second quarterback in their 2020 recruiting class:
Would he mind having to eventually compete with someone in his own class to be a college program’s field general?
“It doesn’t matter,” Stroud said. “I’ve done my research...no matter where you go, you’re going to have to compete whether they’re in the same class or not.”
According to 247Sports.com, the four-star recruit is crystal-balled to choose the Buckeyes. The understanding is that he — and current quarterback commit Jack Miller of Chaparral (Ariz.) High School — will spend the 2020 season sitting behind Justin Fields. Then the two will join 2021 commit Kyle McCord of St. Joseph Prep (Pa.) High School in a three-person battle for the starting job.
Stroud says that in that scenario, he’d spend next season developing as a quarterback, but more importantly developing his body as he’s listed at 6-foot-2 1/2 and 194 pounds. It’s part of the reason he’s working so hard to graduate early on Dec. 18.
Stroud is rated as the nation’s No. 133 overall player and No. 4 pro-style quarterback. His high school coach Mark Verti has compared his playing style to that of Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“He does a little bit of everything well,” Verti told cleveland.com. “He’s a very accurate passer, he throws the ball far, he can throw on line. He usually audibles how I would audible. He’s a smart player.”
The two just so happened to share a quarterback trainer in Quincy Avery, who accompanied Stroud on his unofficial visit. The Buckeyes have already taken two quarterbacks who have worked with Avery in Justin Fields and Dwayne Haskins.
“On the field, I play like a Deshaun Watson and Justin Fields as well,” Stroud said. “I definitely look up to both of those guys as an inspiration to me. Off the field, I try to be like a Drew Brees because that dude is crazy. I love his mindset.”
Stroud is trending upward in the rankings, which started after he took home MVP honors at the Elite 11 finals in July. He shared a team with Ohio State commits Julian Fleming of Southern Columbia (Pa.) High School and Gee Scott Jr. of Eastside Catholic (Wash.) High School.
“Those guys are like my brothers,” Stroud said. “I’ve only known them for a couple of months now, but it seems like we’ve known each other our whole lives. When we were up there on the visit, we all bonded really well. The players in the 2020 class, I feel like we’re all really close.”
Those two have had their part in trying to convince him to join them in the class. But no one had been more vocal about it than Lejond Cavazos of IMG Academy (Fla.).
“He’s probably my biggest supporter when it comes to Ohio State,” Stroud said.
Miller was also on that Elite 11 team but did not participate because of an injury. Miller is expected to take an official visit to Columbus on Oct. 23 and has publicly said that he has no plans to decommit.
Stroud also plans to make an official visit sometime this fall before the early signing period date.
Ohio State wants to add two quarterbacks in the recruiting class to get back to what head coach Ryan Day would call an ideal quarterback room. He’s said that in a perfect world, there are always four scholarship players in that room. Right now, there are four, but getting two quarterbacks in one class doesn’t mean both will still be on the roster one year after they arrive.
No position is more affected by the transfer portal than quarterback, and the Buckeyes’ current starter is a prime example of that. Fields chose to leave Georgia after one season and it sent Ohio State into scramble mode to fill the room behind him. Things may not be as extreme two years from now, but the chances are that if they add two this year, whoever doesn’t win the job may leave even if they aren’t going into it with that mindset.
“If I make a decision to go to a school, I’m invested in that school 110 percent,” Stroud said. “The portal is something that’s been developed and is good for certain players in certain situations. But no matter where I go, I’m going to be 110 percent committed and ready to ball out. I have no intent to use the portal unless I truly need to.”
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