Now that the college football season is officially over, the last few declaration decisions from top prospects have been trickling in following the conclusion of the national title game earlier this week.
One name that’s been conspicuously absent from the list of early declarations? Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Stroud’s stellar performance in the College Football Playoff semifinal wasn’t enough to beat a top-ranked Georgia team that eventually demolished No. 3 TCU for their second straight national title, but it did prove him worthy of consideration as the top quarterback in the 2023 NFL draft class.
Even so, Stroud has yet to make an official announcement about his football future, and he’s running out of time if he wants to make the early jump to the next level.
January 16th is the deadline for underclassmen to declare early for this year’s draft, which leaves Stroud just a few days to decide whether or not he’ll be in this year’s class, or back in Columbus to avenge this year’s last-second defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs.
That decision could have huge implications at the top of the draft, as the Houston Texans could be without a worthy second option at No. 2 overall, if another team trades up ahead of them to the No. 1 spot with the Chicago Bears to land Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.
