When CJ Stroud discussed QB competition at Ohio State while dropping a special mention for Quinn Ewers: "I kind of felt disrespected"

In March last year, former Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud recalled the time when he had competition for the starting position following Quinn Ewers' arrival at the Buckeyes. Stroud initially was the backup to Justin Fields in his freshman season but was expected to fill in Fields' footsteps following his departure for the NFL.

But Stroud found himself in a tough spot after the team brought in Ewers ahead of the 2021 season. On an episode of 'The Shop' before last year's NFL Draft, Stroud said he did not appreciate the lack of a heads-up by the team about Ewers' arrival.

Stroud said he felt disrespected when Ohio State brought in Ewers ahead of training camp for the 2021 season. He went on to talk about how the program informed him about Ewers only after he had arrived at the program.

"The first one was like man how hard can I make it on myself to like be better. And Ohio State wasn't gonna be easy. I had another quarterback I came in with that I knew I wasn't gonna play early. So Justin was the starter, I was the backup.

"And then next year, they brought somebody else in. Quinn Ewers, the Texas quarterback was the number one player I think ever ranked in high school. They brought him like a week into fall camp which is training camp for us and I kind of felt disrespected. I didn't like that. They told me the day he came."

Despite this, CJ Stroud got the starting job in 2021 and remained the team's starter for two seasons before going second overall to the Houston Texans in the 2023 NFL draft. Quinn Ewers, on the other hand, played just one game for Ohio State against Michigan State where he took two snaps before transferring to Texas for their 2022 campaign.

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CJ Stroud's Ohio State career

Coming out of Rancho Cucamonga High School, CJ Stroud committed to play for the Buckeyes in 2020. He redshirted his freshman season as the backup to Justin Fields and recorded eight total snaps while also scoring one rushing touchdown against Michigan State.

After Fields' departure in 2021, CJ Stroud was named as QB1 ahead of Kyle McCord and Quinn Ewers. Stroud went on to compile 4,435 passing yards and 44 TD passes that campaign, which helped him enter the 2022 season as a contender for the Heisman trophy.

In 2022, CJ Stroud recorded 3,688 passing yards and 41 TD passes, helping Ohio State make it to the playoffs where they lost to Georgia in the Peach Bowl. He went on to finish third in Heisman voting behind USC's Caleb Williams and TCU's Max Duggan. He then decided to skip his two remaining years of college eligibility and declare for the 2023 draft, thus starting his professional journey early.