Tag: CJ Stroud

Social Media reacts to Texans WR John Metchie III putting defender in a blender

Former Alabama WR John Metchie III puts on an impressive move at Texans training camp and social media loves it!

After spending his rookie season on the sideline due to a diagnosis of leukemia, former Alabama wide receiver, John Metchie III is back on the field and practicing at the Houston Texans Training Camp this week. Metchie was Houston’s second-round selection in the 2022 NFL draft. It was expected that he would have a large role in the offense prior to the 2022 diagnosis.

The Texans are just as excited about Metchie’s return as he is at this point. With a rookie quarterback in C.J. Stroud, Houston will need all the help they can get from an inexperienced roster for the most part.

In a clip shared to the Texans X account, formerly known as Twitter, Metchie absolutely dusted his defender and you can tell he’s going to be a special player for them this season. Social media in general was happy to see No. 8 back on the field, but the clip took it by storm.

Watch C.J. Stroud light it up on the basketball court

CJ Stroud is just as accurate from the three-point line as he is with the deep ball. #GoBucks

Around this time last year, there was some good-hearted ribbing going on between the Ohio State football team and the Buckeye basketball team. C.J. Stroud was at the Big Ten Media days and was asked about basketball of all things. He shared that he was a pretty good shooter and that the football team could beat the basketball team in a game of hoops.

The matchup never came to be (at least that we know of), but it turns out that Stroud wasn’t exaggerating about his shooting ability. Recently, the newly drafted and signed Houston Texans quarterback was recorded in what looks to be a pick-up game in a high school or small college gym. Let’s just say Stroud’s accuracy from the three-point line is just as deadly as his deep ball on the gridiron.

Watch for yourself in the clip below.

Clearly, Stroud is an all-around athlete. Some will be critical that the No. 2 overall draft pick is playing hoops and risking injury before the season even begins, but it looks like the former Buckeye is not worrying about the critics and enjoying life.

The Texans open training camp Wednesday, July 26.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud play ‘Who’s Most Likely’ ahead of rookie NFL season

The first two picks from the 2023 NFL Draft are also best friends!

While they are fierce competitors on the football field, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud are actually very close friends. The Alabama and Ohio State stars were both at the top of their game in college and ultimately became the first and second overall picks in the 2023 NFL draft.

Young was selected with the first pick to the Carolina Panthers and Stroud had his name called just one pick later at No. 2 to the Houston Texans.

Clips from their high school training days were floating around social media as the draft approached, but now they are making new memories as members of the NFL.

In a recent video shared by the NFL Player’s Association, Young and Stroud play a game of ‘Who’s More Likely,’ which replay shows just how well the two rookies know each other.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Young and other former Alabama players as the 2023 NFL season approaches.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM. 

Watch: Eagles rookie DT Jalen Carter gets a surprise pep talk from Ray Lewis, other NFL legends

Eagles’ first round pick Jalen Carter and other draft picks got a surprise pep talk from their favorite NFL players at the NFLPA rookie premiere

Jalen Carter missed the Eagles Autism Challenge because he had to take a memorable trip to the west coast.

The former Georgia All-American defensive tackle and No. 9 overall pick took part in a special moment during the 2023 NFLPA Rookie Premiere’s business and marketing event and an after-party hosted by Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin in Beverly Hills.

Fanatics presented a video that features NFL legends Joe Montana, Aaron Rodgers, Calvin Johnson Jr., Jerry Rice, Peyton Manning, Eric Dickerson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Rob Gronkowski, Davante Adams, George Kittle, Ray Lewis, and Barry Sanders, among others.

Carter, Will Anderson (Texans), and other rookie defenders received a welcoming message from one of the NFL’s greatest defenders of all-time, former Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis.

The dynamic defensive tackles brief appearance in the video comes at the 1:38 mark.

Carter — along with several top NFL rookies including CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, Will Levis, Anthony Richardson, Will Anderson, and Stetson Bennett — was part of a documentary short-film by the Fanatics for the debut of a documentary titled “The Locker Room.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=15489]

Will Anderson Jr. relates playing with C.J. Stroud to playing with Bryce Young

Will Anderson Jr. says having a QB like C.j. Stroud is like playing with Bryce Young.

Will Anderson Jr. isn’t one to bask in the limelight. He allows his work on the field to do the talking while giving his team’s quarterback to be the center of attention. He’s already exhibited that as an NFL player.

Recently, Anderson made sure his new quarterback for the Houston Texans, Ohio State alum and fellow rookie, C.J. Stroud, gave the first opening press statement.

Anderson also stated that having Stroud at quarterback allows him to feel somewhat relaxed.

“Let me tell you something, I love this,” said Anderson. “I felt like this at Alabama. When you got a QB like them you can just sit back, relax, and let them do everything.”

At Alabama, Anderson was allowed to shine on the defensive side of the ball, because he knew the offense was well taken care of under the stardom of Heisman-winning quarterback Bryce Young. Now, in Houston, he apparently feels as if the team is being operated in a similar fashion.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Anderson, Young and other former Alabama players now in the NFL as the offseason progresses.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM. 

Fomer USC WR Robert Woods could be C.J. Stroud’s trusted target with Texans

Woods played for a veteran QB with the Rams (Matt Stafford). Now he moves to the other side of the spectrum with the Texans.

The Houston Texans continued to overhaul their roster this offseason with the free agent addition of former Trojan wide receiver, Robert Woods, who will be joining his fourth NFL team this year.

Woods was initially drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the 41st overall pick in the second round in 2013.

Woods is a 10-year veteran who has previously played for the Buffalo Bills, L.A. Rams and Tennessee Titans. He has 623 catches for 7,604 yards and 37 touchdowns in his career. He has two seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards, both coming with the Rams (2018 and 2019).

Woods will be the veteran leader in a young receiver room that includes Nico Collins and John Metchie. It is notabe that Metchie is expected to make his NFL debut this coming season after sitting out his rookie year due to a leukemia diagnosis.

The 30-year-old wideout will likely play with a rookie quarterback from day one: former Ohio State start and No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud. I think Woods will bounce back and have another 1,000-yard season as a reliable wideout in the Texans’ new regime.

[mm-video type=video id=01h0b8cnq5ahh1eevygf playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01h0b8cnq5ahh1eevygf/01h0b8cnq5ahh1eevygf-5dff37500872884690ac8c10d4fed04d.jpg]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=696092113]

Bijan Robinson among FanDuel’s best Offensive Rookie of the Year odds

Bijan Robinson leads the way with the best odds for Offensive Rookie of the Year this season.

The 2023 NFL Draft class was full of talented playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. Continue reading “Bijan Robinson among FanDuel’s best Offensive Rookie of the Year odds”

Houston Texans announce rookie numbers for Will Anderson Jr., Henry To’oTo’o

Will Anderson and Henry To’o To’o rookie numbers announced

The Houston Texans are entering the first year of their rebuild under newly-hired head coach DeMeco Ryans. The rebuild will be no easy task for Ryans, as he takes over a messy franchise and a very poor roster. To make matters worse, the Texans would have had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft if not for former head coach Lovie Smith.

In the final game of the regular season, the Texans scored a touchdown with 50 seconds left in a meaningless game against the Colts to cut Indianapolis’ lead to 31-30. Rather than take the PAT and play for OT or lose the game intentionally to hold onto the top pick in the draft, Smith shocked the world and went for two, and got it. The Texans won 32-31, and the Chicago Bears earned the No. 1 overall pick due to the last-minute victory.

The Texans ended up with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft where they selected Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud. They then made the most surprising move of the draft by trading back up to No. 3 overall to land the top defensive prospect Will Anderson Jr. Credit where it is due, in his first draft, Ryans was able to land the QB of the future and the centerpiece of his defense.

Now, for a quick game of what if. If the Texans had lost that game to the Colts and held onto the No. 1 pick in the draft, would we have seen former Alabama stars Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. team up again in Houston? Just food for thought.

The Texans had a very solid draft and filled a lot of holes on their roster. Both Anderson and LB Henry To’o To’o will be massive contributors on this Houston defense from day one. Ryans, also a former member of the Crimson Tide, already has the franchise heading in the right direction.

Ryans has high hopes for this 2023 rookie class, especially Anderson and To’o To’o. Today, the Texans released the rookie numbers of the players they just drafted. Anderson, who wore No. 31 in college, will wear No. 51 and Henry To’o To’o, who was No. 10, will now be rocking No. 39.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to monitory To’o To’o and Anderson in their NFL campaigns.

[mm-video type=video id=01gzckm1zf2rvn75zmng playlist_id=01eqbz6mkdd99nyvkm player_id=01f1jz1vgtfhzk6ner image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gzckm1zf2rvn75zmng/01gzckm1zf2rvn75zmng-4dbe2581534e8325f7fc34bfddeca2bd.jpg]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Ranking all 14 opposing quarterbacks on the Saints’ 2023 schedule

Ranking all 14 opposing quarterbacks on the Saints’ 2023 schedule, from those who appear most-challenging to, well, least-dangerous:

Is Trevor Lawrence the best quarterback the New Orleans Saints are going to face in 2023? Could it be one of the highly-drafted rookies? Or are we believing in Jared Goff and Kirk Cousins continuing to play at a high level?

No matter how you look at it, the Saints don’t exactly have a challenging list of opposing quarterbacks. There isn’t anyone in the group you’d call a future Hall of Famer. There are even a couple of quarterback competitions to sort out in training camp. The only certainty we have right now is that the Saints defense could benefit from some favorable matchups with inexperienced or inefficient quarterbacks in the fall.

So here’s a quick ranking of the passers New Orleans is set to compete against in 2023, ranked from who appears to be the most-challenging to, well, the least-daunting opponents:

Peyton Manning would love to have his rookie INT record broken

Peyton Manning joked that Bryce Young, CJ Stroud or Anthony Richardson throwing 29 interceptions wouldn’t be “the worst thing in the world.”

Peyton Manning was the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft after a standout college career at Tennessee. Despite being one of the NFL’s top quarterback prospects in decades, Manning had plenty of growing pains in his first season.

Manning threw a respectable 26 touchdown passes in his first season, but he also tossed 28 interceptions, which is a rookie record that still stands to this day. Every offseason, Manning jokes that “this could be the year” his unflattering record is broken.

In a recent interview with former teammate Pat McAfee, Manning recalled his rookie season.

“With the draft just the other day, it’s funny, I was thinking back a lot to my rookie in ’98, 25 years ago,” Manning told McAfee. “I was not very good that year, Pat. I threw 28 interceptions, which we have talked about still, is a record that I would like to get broken. I feel like this might be the year.”

Manning then joked that he wouldn’t mind if Bryce Young, CJ Stroud or Anthony Richardson throw 29 interceptions this fall.

“My advice to these coaches: play Young, play Stroud, play Richardson. Let ’em learn,” Manning said. “But if they throw 29 picks, that’s not the worst thing in the world.”

Manning made great improvement in his second season with 15 interceptions. The Indianapolis Colts also improved from 3-13 the previous year to 13-3 in Manning’s second season. So a rough start doesn’t mean a young QB’s career is doomed, as Manning demonstrated.

[vertical-gallery id=642364]

[vertical-gallery id=620142]