NFL Draft prospect CJ Stroud seemed to confirm his low S2 cognition test score during an interview before Thursday's showpiece event.
According to Go Long, the 21-year-old scored 18% on the test compared to 98% from Byrce Young, who is in line to be drafted first. S2 is a 30-to-45-minute exercise with the endeavour to get a read on an athlete’s ability to process information, make decisions and react to different situations. “Stroud scored 18,” an executive reportedly told the outlet, and described it as a ‘red alert’.
“That is like red alert, red alert, you can’t take a guy like that,” the unnamed executive added. “That is why I have Stroud as a bust. That in conjunction with the fact, name one Ohio State quarterback that’s ever done it in the league. The S2 people will say, ‘Hey, guys that graded high on this test don’t always play well. But, we’ve never had somebody grade low and play well.’”
But in an interview ahead of the NFL draft, Stroud appeared to indicate that he did in fact receive a poor mark on the test, but remains unphased and focused on his football. “I'm not a test-taker, I play football. At the end of the day, I don't got nothing to prove to nobody, so I'm not going to sit here and explain how I process football,” the youngster said as reported by columnist Scott Fowler on twitter.
“The people who are making the picks know what I can do, so that's all that matters to me. There's a whole bunch of people who know how to coach better, who know how to play quarterback better, who know how to do everything on social media, but the man in the arena, that's what's tough. I know what I can do, I know what I can process. If I'm not the smartest quarterback in this draft, I know I'm one of the smartest quarterbacks in the NFL when I step in there tomorrow, so I have confidence in myself.
“I don't think you can play at Ohio State and not be smart. I don't got nothing to prove to nobody, man. At the end of the day, if you don't trust and believe in me, all I can tell you is to watch this." Stroud’s test result seems to have dented his chances of being drafted first. But the NFL higher-ups are still very high on the Ohio State Buckeyes star.
“The only guy play-style-wise I can compare him to is Joe Burrow in his LSU year,” they said of Young. “Bryce is the best combination of poise, processing, instincts, toughness. This kid feels and sees so much.” Scouting reports of the quarterback are very promising, though one addressed his laidback nature as a slight cause for concern.
“That was my concern with him,” the scout said. “His personality is just sort of calm and mellow and laid back, and that’s the way he plays. You look at how Bryce Young plays and how Stroud plays, I don’t see how anyone can look at those two play football and you’d want that guy (Stroud) over Young. Bryce’s mind is so quick and he processes so fast. Whereas with Stroud, everything is much, much more programmed.”
Ahead of taking the giant leap to the NFL, Stroud previously said he was trying to stay relaxed and not to stress over things he cannot control. "I'm just honestly just trying to stay stress-free," he said earlier this month. "I mean, a lot of things are not in my control anymore. I feel like the combine and pro day, there were controllable for me. People gotta pick me and I don't gotta make no hard decisions so I'm trying to stay stress-free."
