Ohio State Football: Stroud listed as player who could prove people wrong

Athletes in the 2020 recruiting class will soon make names for themselves, and one recruiter thinks an Ohio State football signee will do just that.

The Ohio State football team’s quarterback signee CJ Stroud is coming into college as a four-star recruit according to 247Sports and Rivals. Additionally, 247Sports has him listed as the No. 41 recruit in the entire 2020 class while Rivals has him ranked at No. 51.

However, Mike Farrell, a recruiting director for Rivals, thinks Stroud is going to prove some guys wrong and show that he maybe should have been a five-star recruit.

This is what Farrell had to say about Stroud in a piece he wrote this week.

"The Ohio State signee has a chance to be the next great one in Columbus and, of all the quarterbacks in this class, he’s probably improved the most over the last two years. Jack Miller is excellent competition in the same class and we know one will end up in the transfer portal, but I like Stroud as the guy to perhaps play like a five-star."

That’s certainly some high praise, and I don’t think Farrell is wrong in thinking this at all.

According to 247Sports, Stroud is the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the country. They also said that he has one of the strongest arms in the country and has the athleticism to make plays out of the pocket as he is also a talented basketball player.

Do you know who that kind of sounds like? Yes, you guessed it – Justin Fields.

Yes, Fields was technically listed as a dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school, but for the Buckeyes this season he was more of a pocket passer who could use his athleticism when he needed to. The stats prove it too as he had 3,273 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, and three interceptions this year compared to 484 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Buckeye fans have already seen Fields succeed as a sophomore at Ohio State, so if Stroud is at least somewhat similar to Fields then I expect him to me a primetime player. Not only will he have the athleticism and the arm to make plays like Fields does, but Stroud won’t start next year since Fields will have at least one more year at OSU, so he should have one year under his belt before starting for the Buckeyes as a sophomore – like Fields did.

Stroud is going to be something special. I think he will keep the Buckeyes as national championship contenders even when Fields moves on to the NFL. And I also think Farrell has a point when he says that Stroud could prove that he should have been a five-star. The kid is talented.