C.J. Stroud wants his entire team to be looking fly on game day.
In a post-practice speech shared Thursday by the Ohio State football team on its official Twitter account, Stroud told the Buckeyes that he was giving every player a $500 gift card to Express – one of his NIL sponsors – to buy new suits for the 2022 season.
game day suits courtesy of QB1 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/vW7ZCOzGvt
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 1, 2022
“I just wanted to do something for the team, so I get everybody $500 gift cards to go to Express and get y’all own suit,” Stroud said, drawing a roar of cheers from his teammates. “Make sure y’all really get some suits, look fly. Make sure we all look good as a team.”
Stroud officially became a brand ambassador for Express, a Columbus-based fashion retailer, in April along with Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Ryan Day said Thursday that he was surprised by Stroud’s gesture, but thought that spoke to the brotherhood he shares with his teammates.
“That's just an example of something that he wanted to do,” Day said. “I mean, nobody asked him to do that. And he kind of surprised me with it. But I think that that's the brotherhood. And that's what it's all about. You don't typically come to Ohio State, because of the guys on the team. A lot of times, you don't really even know who the guys are on the team when you're here. But then once you're here, the reason you play so hard, what motivates you are your teammates. And I think that just goes to show you in a short period of time how close those team has become and C.J. has really become a leader.”
Entering his second season as Ohio State’s second quarterback, Stroud was named as a team captain, receiving the most votes for captaincy among all Buckeye players. He’s drawn consistent praise from his Ohio State teammates and coaches, including Day, for how he’s stepped up as a leader this offseason.
“I've just been impressed with his approach, his maturity,” Day said.
