5 potential transfer destinations for Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud

3. C.J. Stroud potential transfer destinations: Auburn

Auburn was one of Stroud’s offers coming out of high school but that was also Gus Malzahn’s staff that offered. Bryan Harsin, however, did offer when he was the head coach at Boise State. There’s a fit with this offense and Harsin was once a fan. Auburn has Bo Nix, who doesn’t appear to be a candidate to leave early for the NFL, so playing time won’t be a guarantee on the Plains for likely two years. Playing in the SEC would be enticing for Stroud, but could he be patient enough to wait for his turn?

2. C.J. Stroud potential transfer destinations: Penn State

Could you imagine Penn State led by Stroud battling Ohio State and McCord or Quinn Ewers for the Big Ten East title in the next year or two? It would be a great story if that were to ever happen. Penn State offered Stroud coming out of high school and doesn’t have a clear-cut succession plan after Sean Clifford. Stroud may be an upgrade over Clifford today. But would Ohio State block Stroud from going to Penn State even if he and Penn State wanted it to happen? That’s the tricky part, but hopefully, Day and Ohio State wouldn’t block that from coming to fruition. It just wouldn’t be a good look preventing a guy from playing when he is no longer on your team.

1. C.J. Stroud potential transfer destinations: UCLA

UCLA is turning the corner under Chip Kelly and Stroud, a Rancho Cucamonga, CA native, would help the Bruins get closer to competing for Pac-12 championships. Dorian Thompson-Robinson will have another year if he wants and Chase Griffin, Ethan Garbers and Parker McQuarrie are the likely successors to compete for the starting job. The latter two are both former four-star recruits who are freshmen this year. Stroud was a better recruit than all of the above and could thrive in Kelly’s offense. It would also give Stroud an opportunity for a fresh start against Pac-12 defenses in his home state.

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