COLUMBUS, Ohio — You may know the name CJ Stroud as an Ohio State quarterback and now the quarterback for the Houston Texans, but what do you know about him off the field?
Spectrum News 1 was able to sit down and speak with a Columbus family who knows Stroud beyond his performance. The Streeter family have been Buckeye fans for years, but their love for CJ Stroud started because of their 11-year-old daughter.
“We met CJ years ago, his freshman year over at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. My daughter was with me at practice, wanted to meet some of the guys, and she got a chance to meet CJ, and she actually asked him, 'How are you doing? Are you doing OK?' I think that was the breaking point. So where their relationship began is be kind of like I was like that was refreshing to him, and it kind of took off from there,” said Jason Streeter.
It was one simple question that made Stroud feel special — a question Riley asked him because she just viewed him as a regular person.
“I just saw him as like a regular person in college football. That was it. Like such a big deal. But when I looked at his yards and how many passes he threw and he was the second pick in the NFL draft, I was amazed of how far he got to that point where he got into the NFL,” said Riley.
Ever since their first interaction, they have been keeping up with him ever since and have gotten to know him on a personal level.
“Down to earth. Still, young guy loves the Bible. Loves the Bible, puts God first, and you can see it the way he lives. Everything he's passionate about what he does. But deep down inside, he is an extreme competitor. Don't let the don't let the camera for you. He is a competitor,” said Jason.
One of Riley’s favorite moments with Stroud is when he gave her his Texans warmup hat at the game, and she gave him a custom wallet with Texans on the outside and the buckeyes on the inside. She said it’s a moment she will never forget.
“I felt special at that moment because people were actually, like, amazed of like, what the opportunity I had in that moment,” said Riley.
The Streeter family has been supporting Ohio State football players for years but said that Stroud is by far their favorite player they have ever supported because of the connection he has with his daughter.
“The way he treated my daughter from day one and gave her a sense of something. You see these big, burly guys out here, You know, you get a thousand people. Can I have this autographed picture? But it really — it's like a connection,” said Jason.
Although the Streeter family is from Ohio, they wanted to say one thing.
“I'm going to go, Texans 24, Cleveland 23. Sorry Browns fans. I'm sorry. Go CJ. That's all I got,” said Jason.
“And go Texans,” said Riley.