Expectations are sky-high this year for the Houston Texans. There are many reasons why starting with head coach DeMeco Ryans, their deep and talented roster, and the winning culture they are building. But the primary reason there is such excitement surrounding the club is second-year superstar quarterback C.J. Stroud.
When you study Stroud, you quickly realize there is more to him than just being a quarterback. Football is what he does, it is not who he is. Last year’s NFL Rookie of the Year is a natural leader and person deeply committed to his faith in Jesus Christ.
Recently, he sat down with Jason Romano, the host of the incredible Sports Spectrum Podcast. Stroud discussed a variety of topics including his childhood, time at Ohio State, and defining his identity. I was most impressed with his transparency regarding his struggle with taming the tongue.
Below are 30 quotes on faith and leadership from their conversation. You can listen to the full interview by clicking HERE.
The Importance of Jesus Christ
- “I grew up in a faith-based home. You know, that was our foundation.”
- “Before we can do anything else, we wanted to serve. And that’s what I was really brought upon.”
- “He’s my everything… He’s Omega. He’s humble at the same time. He shows me who He is when he needs to.”
- “He keeps me really focused.”
- “He’s my everything. A nd I’m very appreciative of just what He did on the cross for us”
On Making Jesus Christ A Priority
- “I had a teammate named Cameron Babb and Xavier Johnson, who asked me to church the first week I was at Ohio State. And once they asked me and I went, man, I remember like, it was like the first five minutes we were doing praise and worship. And me and my teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Gee Scott just fell to our knees.”
- “We were just crying, like just a bunch of conviction. And that was the moment I was like, man, I need to get back on track. And that was when I started to really try to find Christ for who he was in my life.”
On His Faith Affecting Him Right Now
- “There’s no testimony without a test.”
- “Like the perspective that I was talking about earlier, how, like, I always ask why me, like, my perspective change after everything is like, why not me?”
- “Why can’t I change my story… not only help, you know, my community, but help those follow Christ as well?”
- “I’m not perfect. I try to do my best, and I’m working on things every day, but, you know, His grace is so sufficient. His mercy is amazing. We don’t deserve it, but, you know, He died on the cross for our sins, and I’m just really appreciative of that, because that holds a lot of weight.”
On His Identity
- “My identity isn’t just quarterback. It isn’t just Houston Texans. It isn’t just football. You know, first of all, I’m rooted through Christ and who he thinks I am. Second of all, who my family thinks I am.”
- “Football is very important in my life. But once you realize… okay, my identity is through Christ, so how can I serve every day to be more like him and to help one of those around me?”
On Taming The Tongue
- “I was reading James 3 yesterday. That’s something I’ve been working on is cursing, like, and it’s hard, like, especially that’s the culture.”
- “I’m struggling with cursing right now. I’m trying to stop. I’m trying to just hold back because not only am I trying to do it for myself, but also, like, I can’t proclaim that I love God and have, like, a wild mouth.”
- “I think, my hardest, I don’t know, step to make, or the next big step to make in my journey when I became a follower of Christ, and taming the tongue is hard.”
- “I think about, like, how I was brought up, and that’s not how I was raised. And I don’t know where it started, but I know it needs to stop.”
On Lessons Learned Heading Into Year 2 Of The NFL
- “The one, not the main thing, but one of the things that I definitely need to get better at is people pleasing.”
- “I’m a nighttime Bible reader. I’m not really a morning reader. I watch my devotions in the morning,”
On The Houston Texans
- “To just have other brothers in Christ that I have, even sisters in Christ that work with our team, you know, it’s just shown that… I’m here for a purpose, and they’re here for a purpose.”
- “When you put together that type of love for Christ, that’s the foundation, and then you build on top of that. No matter what happens this year, it’s amazing to work with those type of people.”
- “DeMeco (Ryans) leads from his faith. He never shies away from it, and that’s inspired me. Case (Keenum) is another brother that I have, that I’ve been talking to on a daily day basis about just the things I go through.”
- “This team is just full of excitement right now, and we’re really just ready to roll and get started.”
On Sharing His Faith
- “I know I am behind closed doors. People will assume that since I proclaimed Christ and I’m perfect. I am far from it and we all are striving to be more Christ-like, but that’s why God is who He is, because Adam and Eve did bite the apple. So that story did happen and that’s our DNA.”
- “Every day, I don’t get up wanting to do wrong. I get up trying to strive for the better, and when I proclaim that, I’m not saying it because I want to seem like I’m just a great perfect guy. I’m not. I’m flawed just like everybody else, but I do believe in the perfect one, and He’s the one who keeps me humble. He’s the one who gave me my talents, and He will get the glory for it right back. I’m going to continue to make mistakes, and I’m not afraid of that.”
- “I’m blessed enough to serve a merciful God. I’m getting chills on my spine right now. He just loves me regardless of what I do, and I try to be as best I can, but you fall short.”
- “We serve a merciful God, and I’m very appreciative of that.”
On Thankfulness
- “It’s a million things that I can say that I’m thankful for, but one thing that I’ve been doing lately in my prayers is just been thanking God for the “little things” like getting up in the morning, breathing, being able to talk with you, have conversation, having hair on my head, being able to feel pain, being able to brush my teeth, being able to take a shower, being able to have clean water. These small things that definitely as Christians in America, especially, we take these things for granted. There’s Christians in Africa, there’s Christians in China and over the world, that don’t have these things, but they still love God. They’re still grateful. So like, why can’t we not be grateful?”
- “Those are just as big as me throwing a touchdown in my eyes, because if I’m not able to do that, then I won’t be able to have that opportunity to go out there on the field. That’s something that I’m really thankful for, is just those things.”
If you are not familiar with Sports Spectrum, click HERE to learn more. This wonderful organization exists to tells the stories of the intersection of sports and faith. Jason and his team do an amazing job! I highly recommend you follow them on X by clicking HERE and subscribe to their podcast.
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