CJ Strouds Football Background
Highschool Achievements
With the National Football League (NFL) season kicking off, I’d like to highlight CJ Stroud. Stroud is entering his second year in the NFL as the Texans starting Quarterback.
Before revealing how faith in Jesus Christ fuels Stroud’s approach to life, let’s explore his professional and personal background.
Coleridge Bernard “CJ” Stroud IV was born on October 3, 2001 in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He began playing youth football at the age of eight.
Stroud became a five-star Rancho Cucamonga High School quarterback during his teenage years. Stroud earned this ranking as he threw for 6,569 yards, 70 touchdowns, and 328 rushing yards with 6 more touchdowns.
These efforts helped Stround become
- A top 50 high school player in America.
- The 2nd ranked pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2020.
- The MVP of the Elite 11 game.
- A participant in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes
After playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, spectators expected Stroud to experience immediate success as an Ohio State Buckeye.
Unfortunately, Stroud only had one rushing attempt for forty-eight yards in the two games during the 2020 season. Over the next two seasons, Stroud would play in twenty-five games.
Stroud finished his Ohio State career with a 69.3% completion percentage, 8,123 passing yards, and 85 passing touchdowns. He also rushed for 136 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Stroud’s elite play helped him earn a host of accolades including being
- 1st in Big Ten single-season passing yards in Big Ten games (3,193).
- 1st in Big Ten single-season passing touchdowns in Big Ten games (34).
- 1st in Rose-Bowl total touchdowns (6) and points responsible for (36).
- A 2022 Rose Bowl Champion.
CJ Stroud Houston Texans Rookie Sensation
After his championship season, Stroud was drafted second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.
During his rookie year, Stroud threw for 4,108 yards with a 63.9 completion rating and 23 touchdowns.
He set a single-game rookie record throwing for 470 yards (with 5 touchdowns) in a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also led the Texans to their first playoff appearance since 2019.
CJ Stroud’s Painful Experience
Family Dynamics
Stroud acknowledges a major part of his work ethic and success in football is because of his family.
As the youngest son of Coleridge and Kimberly Stroud, CJ says he had a good childhood. He grew up with three older siblings Isaiah, Asmar, and Ciara.
CJ credits his family’s faith in Jesus Christ as the source of their stability. His parents built and his father served as pastor of Life Application Christian Center in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Growing up in a godly household, Stroud says he never was in want. He spent a lot of time at church and serving others through various volunteer opportunities.
Volunteering helped Stroud put Christian principles such as humility and selflessness into practice. Stroud also became comfortable sharing his faith by discussing the Lord at church.
His Pain & Suffering
The good times during his childhood enabled him to understand and become vocal about his faith. However, through the pain of his teenage years, he would learn about suffering.
Stroud’s suffering came as a result of his father’s transgressions, causing him to be sentenced to thirty-eight years in prison.
His Father’s incarceration caused a strain on their relationship because his hero let him down. On a deeper level, the sentencing led to his parents’ divorce and financial hardship.
Financial hardships led to Stroud living in an apartment that was no bigger than a storage room. Additionally, he had to depend on help from friends to get toiletries and supplies for college.
Though tough, these trials taught him to be grateful for his blessings. These trials were also a blessing in college as they allowed him to develop his relationship with the Lord.
His Purpose & Passions
Genuine faith in Jesus Christ allowed Stroud to discover his purpose beyond the football field. Since Christ forgave him for his sins, Stroud decided to reconcile with his father (Matthew 6:14-15).
Their reconciliation ignited Stroud’s passion to advocate for prison reform. He has gathered support from the Reform Alliance and celebrities like Meek Mills and Michael Ruebin.
It’s wonderful to see how God took Stroud’s pain to help him fulfill his purpose and obey biblical commands (Hebrews 13:3). God can do the same for those who surrender to his will daily and strive to abide by scripture.
Fueled By Faith in Jesus Christ
Four Instrumental Verses
After learning about CJ’s story, four verses come to mind.
These scriptures are
- John 3:16
- Proverbs 3:5-6
- Matthew 10:33
- Colossians 3:23
I believe these verses are instrumental because they show Stroud strives to keep Jesus Christ as the central focus of his life. This is because he depends on Jesus for salvific progression, direction, and a good work ethic that glorifies God.
CJ is unashamed to glorify God because Matthew 10:33 warns him about the repercussions of denying Jesus Christ for public acceptance.
CJ Stroud’s Weaknesses
While Stroud understands the importance of being firm in his faith, he struggles with acceptance. This weakness manifests through people pleasing as he desires to be respectful and kind to everyone.
Along with people pleasing, Stroud is striving to overcome using profanity. He acknowledges cursing is a habit that can make him appear hypocritical since he professes to be a Christian.
Stroud is not the only Christian athlete who struggles with cursing as Kevin Durant wrestles with this same temptation.
Ways to Strengthen Weaknesses
Stroud is already following the advice I gave to Kevin Durant by studying how to tame the tongue using the third chapter of James.
I encourage Stroud to also mediate on Proverbs where Solomon mentions the power of words. Reading these will help be mindful of the words he uses in any situation.
Stroud knows the times he’s most likely to curse are during the heat of competition when emotions are high. Therefore, I want to remind him to be angry and not sin by finding a way to be gracious with his words (Ephesians 4:30; Colossians 4:6).
I know choosing to speak graciously on the football field seems crazy. This is because grown men are saying whatever comes to mind to gain a psychological advantage over their opponent.
With that being said, taking this radical stance may be the approach God uses to help Stroud lead others to Christ.
Leading others to Christ should be the main objective for everything all Christians do. Knowing this, I encourage Stroud to overcome people-pleasing by striving to honor God.
Stroud can honor God by continuing to extend respect and kindness to everyone he meets. At the same time, he must understand humans are fickle.
No matter how well you treat humans, they tend to turn on you for any reason. Jesus proves this as the same crowd that called him Hosanna also demanded he be crucified (Luke 19:28-40; 23:13-25).
Once Stroud grasps this, the pressures of being a star quarterback won’t disrupt his peace.
Has CJ Stroud’s story compelled you to root for him during the upcoming NFL season? Do you have a favorite NFL player who is a Christian that you’d like to highlight?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
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