ESPYs nominee CJ Stroud's breakthrough year wasn't surprising to HS coach

C.J. Stroud, a 2024 ESPYs nominee for best breakthrough athlete, played above and beyond his second-overall draft position during a Houston Texans rookie year, proven by the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year award he earned on Super Bowl week.

But that wasn't surprising to Mark Verti, Stroud's high school coach in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

In an interview with ABC13 ahead of Thursday night's Serena Williams-hosted ESPYs, Verti said Stroud's raw talent showed through when the Texans quarterback was a 14-year-old freshman trying out for varsity.

"The very first week we had an intrasquad scrimmage, he started making plays, seeing things open up. He didn't know the plays or reads. He was only up there a week," Verti said, remembering the impression Stroud gave.

Despite wowing observers, the Ohio State product wasn't quite ready for the varsity lights yet. Stroud started for the first-year team, learning to lead and earn his way.

"He was frustrated. He wanted to play. He had rough days out there, but he learned, and going to Houston, he knew he had to earn his position. He's always earned everything," Verti said.

Stroud's coach added that the quarterback worked to excel on the football field but also to help his mother, Kimberly, who raised their family as a single parent.

"C.J. said early on that what drives him every day is to make a better life for his mom, a better life for himself," Verti said.

Stroud and his mom are working to help others in similar situations. The C.J. Stroud Foundation focuses on helping single mothers, criminal justice reform, and children of incarcerated parents.

From youth football camps to holiday giveaways to helping clean up weather-damaged neighborhoods, Stroud is about paying it forward, proving he's a breakthrough athlete in every way.

SEE MORE: Stroud hits the field for his namesake foundation's football camp at Houston's St. Thomas HS

How's C.J. Stroud spending the offseason before his second year with the Houston Texans? Just being a kid at his namesake foundation's football camp.

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