The emotions have sort of been all over the place for rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud as he gets set to play his first real NFL game and kickoff his era leading the Texans franchise.
Stroud, the No.2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, believes he is ready for Sunday’s debut in the season opener at Baltimore, but admittedly he is ready to find out just how ready he is, along with the rest of the Texans’ fans.
“I think you only know until you know, and I think I’m doing everything, or at least I’m trying to do everything the right way to be able to be ready, and only time will tell,” Stroud said this week. “So, I can’t just be like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m going to just go out there and kill it.’ I’ve got to go do it.”
There has never been much doubt the Texans and head coach DeMeco Ryans have believed he can do it since the night they made the former Ohio State star the new face of the franchise.
General manager Nick Caserio and Ryans talked a good game about Stroud having to prove himself in minicamp and training camp — which by all accounts he did – but the ball was always going to land in his hands this season. It was obvious Stroud was being groomed to be the immediate starter from reps he took in practice, to starting every preseason game, to being named a team captain this week. The announcement after the last preseason game that Stroud would be the Week 1 starter over incumbent Davis Mills was never a mystery.
But now it’s showtime and the Texans’ turnaround hinges on his arm.
“I’m going to go out there and just try to be as confident because I know God wouldn’t put [anything] on me that I can’t handle,” said Stroud, who is the Texans’ third different Week 1 starter in the last three seasons. “I know I put in the work, and I will put in the work this week to be confident enough and go out there and play with my swagger and just lead my guys.”
Stroud has won over his teammates, coaches and fans with his hard work, quarterback skills, attention to detail and willingness to lead vocally and by example. But now comes the hard part and that’s winning on the road in one of the toughest stadiums in the NFL – M&T Stadium – and facing one of the most talented quarterbacks the league has to offer in Lamar Jackson.
It doesn’t get much tougher for a professional debut.
“It’s going to be a challenge for our guys. Rookie quarterback, it’s going to be a tough challenge for us, but it’s nothing that we’re backing down from or we’re not up to,” said Ryans, who also will be making his head coaching debut Sunday. “We’re up to the challenge, and we’ll face it. It’s one play at a time, and let’s see who comes out on top on Sunday.”
Stroud knows the environment will be unlike anything that he has ever experienced but he isn’t afraid of the moment.
“I hear a lot of good things about this stadium – it’s loud, it’s kind of like a college atmosphere,” he said. “Of course, I played at a lot of loud stadiums, but I don’t want to compare that to the NFL. I want to take everything for what it is and don’t want to try and crossover things, but just try to stay true to what that is and what Baltimore is like.”
Stroud is also excited about the opportunity to face Jackson, a quarterback who he has long admired.
“I’ve been a big fan of his and I’m excited to line up against him,” Stroud said. “Hopefully, I get to talk to him after the game, but really, really big fan of his and excited to see him have a great year.”
