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Kirk Herbstreit speaks to CJ Stroud’s Ohio State preparation for the NFL
By Keith Farner
Published:
On the morning after CJ Stroud’s NFL preseason debut, Kirk Herbstreit went on with Sean Salisbury on SportsTalk 790 Houston to discuss the former Ohio State star.
The ESPN analyst said Stroud comes out of an Ohio State offense that is very conducive to the NFL.
“In all of my conversations with Ryan Day, and he and I have a very good relationship, he’s never said, ‘We’re just trying to spoonfeed him,'” Herbstreit said. “Opposite. He’s always been impressed with his commitment to learn the offense. Always impressed with his ability to digest the offense, that never held Ohio State back in anything they ever wanted to do, was worrying about CJ Stroud and his ability to understand schemes, understand defenses, make decisions.”
Herbstreit concluded that it’s always a “guessing game” when players transition from college to the NFL with their physical abilities.
“What I’ve learned over the years is it’s impossible to know if a guy’s going to have the ability to go from college, to go to the NFL, and have that same ability to work through progressions, process the information, make quick decisions and be accurate, and do all the intangibles of being a leader,” he said.
However, there are no signs from Ohio State or anybody around Stroud to be “concerned” about knowledge and understanding scheme.
Stroud, who was drafted No. 2 overall out of Ohio State, played the first 2 series of his NFL preseason debut on Thursday for the Texans against the Patriots and went 2 of 4 for 13 yards with an interception. He rushed twice for 6 yards and was sacked once.
Keith Farner has written about college football for newspapers and web sites since 2005.