We made it.
It’s the last Monday morning column of 2021.
As Ohio State prepares to take on Utah in the Rose Bowl at the end of the week, here’s a look at what I’m thinking about before I head out to Pasadena, California.
What was 2021 like for Ohio State football?
It was one of transition and change. In many ways, it was what 2019 should have been.
After head coach Urban Meyer passed the whistle to head coach Ryan Day in the locker room of the 2019 Rose Bowl, officially ending his regime as head coach, the “Meyer effect” wasn’t all gone.
Justin Fields committed to Day’s program in early January 2019 after transferring from Georgia and was seen days later at a basketball game, flanked on either side by Dwayne Haskins and Meyer. With Fields behind center, Day now had two years to find that successor. Sure, Fields showcased Day’s offense at points: a highly-accurate, elusive quarterback that used his arm more than he used his feet.
But 2021 was really the first opportunity to see a quarterback built by a perceived quarterback whisperer in a quarterback room that did not have one member that had ever thrown a collegiate pass.
And if there was any offense to set that individual up for success, it was this one: utilizing two of the best wide receivers in the country — Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave — along with a senior tight end (Jeremy Ruckert) and an offensive line with two members — Nicholas Petit-Frere and Thayer Munford — seemingly on a path to All-American seasons.
Day just needed a quarterback who could fill in the gaps, find his role quickly and grow from there.
C.J. Stroud was that quarterback.
The mistakes showed early, from the three interceptions to the four sacks in the first three games, but the touchdowns and the accuracy only increased from there, taking a staggering jump after he returned from his one-week absence resting his throwing shoulder.
Stroud was the quarterback Ohio State needed at the right time: the highly-accurate and elusive passer that used his arm more than his feet.
Was he perfect? No, but he was a redshirt freshman.
There were moments where we could have tucked and ran, instead forcing into too tight of a window or sailing the ball over the head of a receiver and retorting he was a “quarterback” not a “running back.”
He’s a kid. He’s got room to grow.
And in a year that brought Ohio State its first loss to Michigan since 2011, one that represented transition and change, none represented that more than Stroud: blooming into the best quarterback in the Big Ten and one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Was it good enough? No. Not for Ohio State and its expectations for the program.
But a trip to New York City as a Heisman finalist is not a bad place for a quarterback to start.
Read the rest of the column here.
