Ohio State To Start New QB After C.J. Stroud Injury

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud will not start against Akron today and will be the emergency backup.

Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day told 97.1 FM The Fan this week that Stroud was nursing a shoulder injury, so they decided that rest was the best option. The redshirt freshman has started the first three games this season and was named Big 10 Freshman of the Week during the first two games. Nevertheless, he will make way before No. 10 Ohio State begins conference play next weekend against Rutgers.

"We'll see how he's feeling right now, see how he's feeling today coming in, but there was still kind of this feeling that he had that he really couldn't shake, and so maybe rest is something that would go a long way for him," Day said. "And then allow some of these other guys to practice and move forward here. But, yeah, we'll see, we'll see how he's doing, see how he's feeling, and obviously his feedback is important.

"If he's ready to roll, let's go. But I think rest here is probably going to be the best option over the weekend."

Redshirt freshman Jack Miller and freshman Kyle McCord are in line to carry the load under center. Day has not named a starter, but Miller did appear in one game last season, albeit just a running play against Nebraska. Neither has thrown a pass in college.

Both Miller and McCord have plenty of pedigree, as both quarterbacks were four-star prospects in their recruiting classes. McCord was even bumped to a five-star at one point last season.

Day said he has confidence in both quarterbacks and knows they'll be ready to go in whatever capacity.

"We knew going into the season that we're going to need the whole room, we talked about that coming in, that this was just going to probably be one guy, that we're going to need everybody," Day said. "We certainly know the story on that in 2014, we needed JT , Cardale and Braxton . This year maybe is similar to that way, I don't know, we'll see. But this is a great opportunity to possibly get these guys some reps, and it looks like maybe the opportunity is going to present itself here."