Ohio State football: CJ Stroud makes statement to win Buckeyes starting QB job

CJ Stroud played very well in the Ohio State football team’s spring game on Saturday afternoon.

The Ohio State football program has the tall task of replacing Justin Fields under center. In a three-man race for the starting job, sophomore CJ Stroud showed why it should be him during the Buckeyes’ annual spring game on Saturday.

Stroud completed 16-of-22 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Though Jack Miller and Kyle McCord played well too, it feels like Stroud has the early lead at winning the starting job. Miller played some last year too, but this is McCord’s first semester on campus.

Because Stroud outplayed Miller and McCord is a year behind both of them, this is why Stroud is the early leader.

Ohio State football: Will CJ Stroud win the Buckeyes starting quarterback job?

With Miller not throwing a touchdown and turning the ball over, that hurts his chances of winning the starting job. He completed 17-of-30 passes for 128 yards and a pick.

While McCord’s stat line of 12-of-17 passing for 184 yards and two aerial strikes compares favorably to Stroud’s, keep in mind that Stroud was likely going up against better defensive competition than McCord did.

Overall, it serves head coach Ryan Day to keep this competition as close to the vest as possible. He does not want a quarterback to transfer before fall camp and since there is no incumbent starter at the position, competition will bring out the best in all three of them.

With Miller possibly fading, it could come down to Stroud or McCord by the end of Buckeyes fall camp in August.

It is not by much, but Stroud feels like the earliest of leaders in the Buckeyes’ quarterback race.

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