C.J. Stroud: Ohio State football could beat basketball team

After schooling Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in a few friendly games of H-O-R-S-E, C.J. Stroud was feeling good about himself.

He dubbed himself the “best shooter” on the Buckeyes’ football team, and then went on to claim that a group of his gridiron gang could best his neighboring basketball buddies in a pickup game.

“I honestly think that if we played football versus our basketball team, I think it would be close,” Stroud told reporters this week during a Big 10 Football Media Day conference. “I think we would win.”

Stroud was unwavering with his projections and has even gone as far as drafting up a theoretical five in his mind that he’d take to battle against the school’s hoopers. According to the Heisman Trophy finalist, he’d pair Smith-Njiigba and himself alongside redshirt junior Cade Stover, safety Josh Proctor and offensive tackle Dawand Jones. He labeled the latter as “the most polished basketball player on the team.”

Jones’ high school numbers back Stroud’s adulation. At 6-foot-8, 350 pounds, Jones’ frame allowed him to do incredible damage in the paint during his pre-Buckeye days at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. The center averaged 17.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as he helped guide the Giants to a state championship his senior year.

“He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever met in my life,” Stroud said about Jones. “He could play basketball, but his footwork and his ability to use his size not against him, but for him, it was amazing to see the laws of gravity, you know what I mean?”

Jones isn’t the only footballer with an impressive résumé on the hardwood. 

Proctor led his high school squad in scoring with 17.0 PPG during his junior campaign in Owasso, Okla., while the 6-foot-4 Stover set his school’s all-time scoring and rebounding record. Stroud and Smith-Njigba were multi-sport varsity athletes during their teen years as well.

It’s not far-fetched to think that some members of Ohio State’s football team have hardwood skills as well, but when the school’s basketball team heard about Stroud’s comments, they couldn’t help but laugh.

Junior center Zed Key responded to the Twitter video with a slew of crying emojis, saying “let’s run it then,” while guard Eugene Brown emphasized that he wouldn’t be running from the challenge anytime soon.

Stroud may have to eat his words if the matchup actually does take place, but for now, this is his prediction, and he’s sticking to it.