ESPN is bringing in a recent Ohio State star to be the guest picker for this week’s College GameDay in Columbus.
Former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud will be the guest picker for this week’s College GameDay, which will broadcast live from Ohio State’s campus before the Buckeyes’ game against the Nittany Lions on Saturday.
An Ohio State star is coming back to Columbus
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 19, 2023
See ya Saturday, @CJ7STROUD! pic.twitter.com/50vg5j9hmM
Stroud is currently in his first season as the starting quarterback of the NFL’s Houston Texans after playing for the Buckeyes from 2020-22, earning back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year awards and invitations to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in his two seasons as a starter. In two starts against Penn State, Stroud completed 48 of 67 passes for 659 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Buckeyes to a pair of victories.
The Texans are on a bye this week, opening up the opportunity for Stroud to return to Columbus to watch the Buckeyes take on Penn State in their biggest home game of the year. Stroud is currently the frontrunner to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award, having completed 127 of 213 passes for 1,660 yards and nine touchdowns with only one interception in his first six games as an NFL quarterback, leading the Texans to a 3-3 start after winning only three games in the entire 2022 season.
Stroud becomes the second straight former Ohio State player to serve as a guest picker for a GameDay broadcast in Columbus as former Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk was the guest picker for last year’s home game against Michigan. Other recent guest pickers for GameDay broadcasts from Ohio State have included musicians Jack Harlow (2022 vs. Notre Dame) and Twenty One Pilots (2021 vs. Michigan State), Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George (2019 vs. Penn State) and MLB star Bryce Harper (2018 vs. Michigan).
College GameDay will broadcast in front of St. John Arena from 9-11 a.m. Saturday before moving inside Ohio Stadium for the final hour of the show ahead of the noon kickoff between Ohio State and Penn State on FOX. Other guests expected to appear on set during Saturday morning’s show include Hawk, Ryan Day and Oz the Mentalist.
More information about College GameDay’s broadcast from Ohio State can be found on ESPN’s website.
Saturday will be the 23rd time Ohio State has hosted College GameDay, the most of any school. It will be the 12th time an Ohio State-Penn State game has been the site of a GameDay broadcast, more than any other matchup.
FOX‘s Big Noon Kickoff will also broadcast from Ohio State’s campus on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. The Big Noon Kickoff set will be located outside the RPAC south of Ohio Stadium.
