C.J. Stroud Is More Than His Adversities

By Arif Hasan ProoFootball Network

C.J. Stroud’s Elite 11 Experience Was A Template

Stroud didn’t leave the Opening with an invite to the Elite 11 camp like other quarterbacks did. He needed to go to another regional camp and prove himself there before they would extend an invite. He traveled to Oakland for that opportunity and earned it. After that, his success at the Elite 11 would come with a sudden explosion in offers from Power Five programs.

But again, Stroud didn’t have the strongest start at the quarterback camp. And so he sought out his community resources — Elite 11 quarterback coach Jerrod Johnson and mindset strategist and chess player Seth Makowsky. The post-camp notes on the quarterback noted that Stroud was the “hungriest kid” there, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman.

He spent “every waking hour” with either Johnson or Makowsky, figuring out how to train his craft or his mind. The process of reorganizing his thoughts, he said, turned him into a much more complete quarterback.

As a result, Stroud didn’t succumb to the temptation often felt in quarterback camps to always find the big play. He kept the ball off the ground and kept the completions coming. He reframed what a successful play was and committed to it, earning Elite 11 MVP honors along the way.

Stroud has become a methodical yet inventive quarterback. But more than that, he’s always been improving. He had trouble seeing the field with so many talented quarterbacks ahead of him at Ohio State and then struggled when he first earned the job.