Jalen Ramsey, Ryan Clark defend C.J. Stroud over 'fake' allegations ahead of 2023 NFL Draft - "This sh** so lame"
Amidst the allegations surrounding him, CJ Stroud has found a pair of supporters. Lately, the Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback has been all over the NFL draft headlines for the wrong reasons, from not doing well in a test to being called hard to coach.
The latest one, though, involved him allegedly no-showing a football camp run by the Manning brothers after initially committing to it, per Brady Quinn. However, former NFL safety Ryan Clark recently came to his support, dismissing the rumors:
"CJ Stroud never committed to attend the Manning camp. He chose to work with his teammates at @OhioStateFB instead before his final season. He wasn’t paid to go, & furthermore @Brady_Quinn. what does acquiescing to the Manning family have to do with leading an organization?"
CJ Stroud never committed to attend the Manning camp.
He chose to work with his teammates at @OhioStateFB instead before his final season.
He wasn’t paid to go, & furthermore @Brady_Quinn what does acquiescing to the Manning family have to do with leading an organization?
This is an example of analyst like @Brady_Quinn telling stories of 0 value to diminish a man’s character while validating his own. Instead of dissecting film, or speaking to coaches an adult man stooped to gossip while analyzing. It’s an immature evaluation of football integrity twitter.com/Realrclark25/s…
Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey also defended Stroud against the allegations, taking digs at Quinn's NFL career:
"Smh don’t “owe” them folks NOTHING! This shid so lame every year before the draft tryna “red flag” a kid for bs!"
@_MLFootball @Brady_Quinn @picksixpod Smh don’t “owe” them folks NOTHING! This shid so lame every year before the draft tryna “red flag” a kid for bs!
Fake story! Tryna beak a kid down before the draft is lame, especially for not going to a camp that I’m sure he wasn’t getting paid for & instead working with his teammates! Plus @Brady_Quinn , you was a bust, shut up! You shoulda went to a passing academy or 2!
God bless tho 🤟🏾 twitter.com/nfl_dovkleiman…
What did Brady Quinn and other critics say about CJ Stroud?
On CBS Sports' Pick Six Podcast, Quinn talked about a potentially alarming story of Stroud skipping the Manning Passing Academy:
“I’ve been told that he committed to it the night before, then just kind of ghosted them, didn’t show up. That’s football royalty, and when you do that, that’s gonna kind of set off some alarms for people, like, ‘Hey man, that’s not how you conduct yourself—especially around the Manning family, or just in general—if you’re gonna be a franchise quarterback.’”
Report: CJ Stroud made a commitment to the Manning Passing Academy but “the night before he ghosted them and didn’t show up”, per @Brady_Quinn
"When you do that, that's gonna set up alarms for people."
Quinn noted that as one of three concerns with Stroud (h/t @PanthersAnalyst) https://t.co/z2Y9gAPbFe
Last week, Stroud was also at the forefront of two stories. The first was of him being discovered by scouts to be "difficult to coach," according to former NFL executive Michael Lombardi, who expressed doubt that the Houston Texans would choose him second overall:
"I'm not sure CJ Stroud is going #2"
@mlombardiNFL and @StormBuonantony discussed the uncertainty of the Texans drafting Stroud with their number two pick in the #NFLDraft on #TheLombardiLine 🏈
For more, visit vsin.com/nfl/ https://t.co/8X1zli6XxV
The next day, Lance Zierlein claimed on ESPN 97.5's The Bench that Stroud had failed to post a high score during an S2 test, hurting his Draft stock:
😬 https://t.co/OO0hM3dRB9
Which team will C.J. Stroud get drafted to?
Despite all these stories, the Houston Texans are still the favorites to land Stroud, and he appears to reciprocate their interest.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated at last month's Scouting Combine, Stroud said that his meeting with the team "went really well". He elaborated:
"I’m looking forward to going deeper and deeper and building a relationship with them."
The Texans have the second and 12th overall picks; so it's plausible that they will take a non-quarterback like a wide receiver first, and either choose Stroud if he's still available or trade up for him if he has been taken.