When the NFL rolled out the red carpet for its annual honors ceremony this year, all eyes were on CJ Stroud, the Houston Texans‘ gunslinger who had the entire league doing a double-take. With an electrifying 4,103 passing yards and 23 touchdowns under his belt, Stroud was the embodiment of a young quarterback playing like a seasoned vet. As he snagged the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, the roars from Texans fans shook the venue to its core.

But beneath the surface, a familiar sting lingered – the feeling of being shafted, of having his talents overshadowed by narratives beyond his control. While Lamar Jackson rightfully secured his second MVP trophy, Stroud couldn’t shake the sense that he got “robbed,” as they say in the streets. His jaw-dropping campaign, leading the underdog Texans to playoffs, seemed worthy of the league’s top individual honor. Yet, when the confetti settled, Stroud was left empty-handed, a spectator to the NFL’s political machinery.

“I’ve been getting this treatment since college. It’s a lot of politics that play.” Stroud revealed on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast today, his voice laced with disappointment. The scars from his Heisman snubs at Ohio State appeared still raw. “I thought at least I should have won one Heisman…I for sure should have won one.” The injustice stung like a blindside hit, fueling his motivation to prove the doubters wrong on the professional gridiron.

Podcast host echoed Stroud’s sentiments, declaring with a straight face, “You was a rookie, no disrespect to Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes…I felt as though the MVP of the season last year was you.” Stroud’s stat line was straight out of a Madden fantasy, off-the-charts for a first-year signal-caller. Yet, the narrative favored the established stars, leaving Stroud’s heroics underappreciated. As Tank Dell stated in the podcast, he messaged Stroud throughout the year saying “You wrapped it up you got it now it’s over with,” only to be surprised when Stroud didn’t win.

The host argued that the MVP should go to the player who exceeded expectations the most, saying “If you gotta go off the MVP you gotta go off who’s having the best season based off expectations.” The Texans faced low preseason expectations after drafting Stroud second overall, while Jackson’s Ravens were projected as top contenders. Just as his Heisman hopes were dashed by factors beyond the hash marks, the NFL’s Byzantine power dynamics seemed to conspire against him once more.

The Heisman heist and CJ Stroud’s unsettled quest for recognition

Stroud’s Ohio State tenure was a paradox – a record-shattering career marred by the agonizing near-misses for college football’s highest individual honor. Twice a Heisman finalist, Stroud watched from the sidelines as Bryce Young and Caleb Williams hoisted the bronze statue, their stories trumping his on-field brilliance like a Hollywood screenplay.

The 2021 season seemed poised for Stroud’s coronation. With 3,862 passing yards and 38 touchdowns, numbers that would make even Joe Montana blush, he led the nation in efficiency and guided the Buckeyes to a Rose Bowl berth. But a late-season loss to Michigan, that eternal thorn in Ohio State’s side, derailed his momentum, opening the door for Young’s fairytale campaign straight out of central casting.

A year later, Stroud’s numbers were even gaudier – 3,340 yards and 37 scores with just six picks, a stat line that would make even Tom Brady envious. But USC’s Williams seized the narrative with his Hollywood story, leaving Stroud as an also-ran in New York yet again, like a modern-day Rudy stuck on the bench.

“The journey was very hard,” Stroud reflected, his voice carrying the weight of a thousand sleepless nights in the film room. “I think this time was harder than last year, because I wasn’t surprising anybody. Defenses were trying to stop me.”  His Heisman snubs may have stung like a blindside hit, but they also forged the resolve that propelled Stroud to NFL stardom, a tale of perseverance as American as baseball and apple pie.

While the individual accolades eluded him in college, his pro trajectory suggests those misses were mere delays, not denials. For CJ Stroud, the ultimate recognition may still lie ahead – an MVP award free from politics, a testament to his unwavering will to ascend to the summit of his sport, like a modern-day Rocky scaling the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

However, Stroud’s quest for the elusive Heisman remained unfulfilled, as he boldly proclaimed before the 2023 season, “Marvin is the best player in the country. If he doesn’t win the Heisman, it’s rigged.” Yet, when the votes were tallied, it was LSU’s Jayden Daniels who took home college football’s top prize, leaving Stroud’s alma mater empty-handed once again.