Stroud is frontrunner as freshmen battle for Buckeyes QB job
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — None of the three freshmen competing to start at quarterback for No. 4 Ohio State has thrown a pass in a college football game.
That’s unfamiliar and unsettling for third-year Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who had the luxury of the record-shattering Justin Fields running the offense the past two seasons.
Day revealed Monday that the frontrunner to start is C.J. Stroud, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound redshirt freshman from Rancho Cucamonga, California, who played sparingly last year in mop-up duty. Stroud has moved in front of Jack Miller, a member of that same 2020 recruiting class, and freshman Kyle McCord.
“I don’t know how much separation there is. I’m not sure,” Day said. “But I’ll say that every day (Stroud’s) been competing, he’s been taking care of the football, making good decisions, he’s been a leader. And those are all some of the traits we’re looking for.”
The wildcard is Quinn Ewers from Southlake, Texas, the No. 2 high school prospect in the 2022 class who decided to forgo his senior season and come to Ohio State to take advantage of endorsement offers via new NIL rules. Ewers is enrolled and is going through the process to be eligible to play this season.
Day is trying to impress upon the freshmen the sometimes crushing responsibility that comes with the top QB position at Ohio State.
“I try to tell them all the time if you can survive practice with me kind of getting after you, the games will be easy,” he said. “That’s sometimes hard on those guys. I try to help them understand how hard it is to win a game and to play quarterback at this level.
“Our expectation here is Heisman Trophy, national championship. The pressure has never been higher for those guys, and they understand.”
Keys to the car:
Whichever freshman wins the job will have an outstanding supporting cast, including receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, possibly the best wideout tandem in college football. Master Teague III returns as the top incumbent running back, but he’s being pushed by others, including freshmen Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson.
“They got a nice little vehicle to drive,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said of the QB candidates. “We’ll see who can put their hands on and steer it the best.” Rutgers brings back
20 starters: If Greg Schiano’s first year back at Rutgers was any indication, the Scarlet Knights are certainly no longer the worst football team in the Big Ten Conference.
To the surprise of many, Rutgers posted a 3-6 record playing a conference-only schedule in a 2020 season delayed and shortened by the pandemic.
The three wins matched the university’s total in the previous two seasons combined. The season-opening victory over Michigan State snapped a 21-game losing streak in the league dating to 2017.
Expectations are higher this season with Schiano returning 20 starters, including all 11 on offense. He even has his punter, placekicker and long snapper back. The NCAA decision allowing last season to not count against a player’s eligibility certainly helped.
It all has some fans believing Rutgers can get back to a bowl game for the first time since 2014, when they played in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit with Kyle Flood as coach.
“Certainly winning some games after not having won very many built their confidence and they started to believe,” Schiano said of his players.
“You know what, we belong in this league and as I told them, and you guys, it’s just going to become more and more evident each and every year.”
Players do not stray from Schiano’s script in interviews.