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CJ Stroud explains awesome TD to Julian Fleming was intended for a different target
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Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud built a rapport last season with future first-round targets Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave in 2021. This season, he hasn’t missed a beat with several future first-rounders in the making.
Stroud remains dominant 3 weeks into the new season. Last week against Toledo might have been his coming out party in terms of placing himself in the driver’s seat of the Heisman race. En route to a 77-21 win over the Rockets, Stroud threw for 367 yards and 5 touchdowns while completing 82% of his passes.
The most impressive throw came on an 11-yard touchdown to receiver Julian Fleming with seconds remaining in the second quarter. When asked about the sidearm sling, Stroud said the pass was initially meant for Mavin Harrison Jr.
Then again, he isn’t complaining that Fleming was in the right place to make the catch, as well.
C.J. Stroud said he wanted to throw this pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. but was happy Julian Fleming caught it.
"I put it to where only Marvin or Julian could get it."pic.twitter.com/LLOMR4Rp8B
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) September 20, 2022
Here’s the full explanation from Stroud, and it is insanely in-depth:
It's always fascinating to hear C.J. Stroud break down a play on a week-to-week basis.
This week, he discussed his 5-yard touchdown pass to Julian Fleming that was actually intended for Marvin Harrison Jr. pic.twitter.com/j66RJ0FOIK
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) September 20, 2022
Fleming, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior, finished Saturday’s game with 3 catches for 23 yards and 2 touchdowns. It also marked his season debut for the Buckeyes after missing the first 2 outings with an undisclosed injury.
The Buckeyes are fully healthy at receiver entering the start of conference play. Last week, Ohio State welcomed back Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who did not play against Arkansas State after being ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Stroud has currently completed 72.9% of his passes for 941 yards and 11 touchdowns to begin the season. The No. 3 Buckeyes will play host to Wisconsin on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. E.T.
Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Tradition who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.