Ohio State football quarterback C.J. Stroud named Big Ten freshman of the week
Joey Kaufman
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud was selected as the Big Ten’s freshman of the week following his first career start in the team’s season-opening 45-31 win at Minnesota on Thursday.
He completed 13 of 22 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns, helping the Buckeyes pour on points in the second half to rally from a 14-10 halftime deficit.
Stroud, who was named the starting quarterback at the end of preseason training camp last month, holding off other freshman passers to win the job, was not flawless in his debut. An off-target throw in the second quarter against the Golden Gophers was intercepted.
But he managed to connect with wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson for a series of deep throws and finish with the second-most passing yards by a Buckeyes quarterback in a starting debut in at least two decades.
Only Dwayne Haskins, who threw for 313 yards in his first start in a rout of Oregon State in 2018, totaled more.
The last Ohio State freshman to receive the weekly Big Ten honor was Tate Martell in 2018 when he completed 10 of 10 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in a win over Rutgers in the conference opener. It remains a school record for completion percentage by a quarterback with at least 10 pass attempts.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.