It’s safe to say that C.J. Stroud had a hard couple of weeks leading up to the draft as he faced criticism following rumors of a low S2 score and anonymous reports claiming he was difficult to coach. But he thinks he went through everything for a reason.
After he was selected No. 2 overall by the Houston Texans, Stroud made it clear that in a way, he thinks the difficult circumstances were a blessing.
“I’m battle-tested. I think God has put a lot of trials and tribulations in my life and it’s not for no reason. It’s to lead people to him and of course to get me ready for what I have to go through,” Stroud said according to Eleven Warriors. “So yeah man, I’m wearing the armor of God, I’m scarred up. But at the same time, that’s what you want. You want somebody who’s been through adversity, somebody who’s gonna persevere through issues.
“And I ain’t really worried about the talk. People gonna talk, good, bad, ugly, sad. But I’m just gonna continue to be myself, continue to be a great man of God, continue to lead, and now that I’m a Texan, I’m gonna continue to do it the Texan way. Be relentless, swarm, everything that Coach (DeMeco) Ryans and Nick Caserio, the McNairs, man. I want to thank them for the opportunity. Because I mean, they took a trust in not only me, but Will as well. And I think I’m gonna bring just myself, man. So everything I’ve been through, it’s not for no reason. I think that’s why I went through it just to get to a team like this and be able to flip it around and win games and do as best as I can.”
Now that Stroud is on the other side of it all, he’ll be able to focus on football.
