(SportsRadio 610) - The Texans and Panthers have taken different approaches with the development of their rookie quarterbacks.
Bryce Young, the first pick in the draft, was anointed as Carolina's starter during the offseason program. C.J. Stroud, selected one spot behind Young, is splitting time with third-year veteran Davis Mills until coach DeMeco Ryans believes it's time to name Stroud as the starter for the first game at Baltimore.
Stroud and Young are friends. Stroud isn't envious that Young has been promoted as the starter by first-year Carolina coach Frank Reich.
"That's my brother," Stroud said after the Texans' fourth practice at training camp on Sunday. "I'm happy for him, but his situation is his, and my situation is mine. I don't want anything given to me. I want to earn everything."
Stroud knows Ryans, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson want him to play well enough to separate from Mills and Case Keenum.
When he shows his coaches and teammates he can handle the starting job the way they demand, he'll get the official endorsement from Ryans.
Everyone knows it's only a matter of time before Stroud is elevated into the No. 1 role.
"It's been open conversations, very transparent," Stroud said about his situation and his communication with the coaches. "It's not about who's the starter. We're focused on getting better for Week 1 against Baltimore. We're building as a team. It's not about individuals.
"Davis and Case are great vets. They've done a great job helping me. Just because we're competing doesn't mean we're not going to learn from each other. I've had a great time being in that (quarterback) room with those guys. It's (about) trying to build a brotherhood, and I feel like we've done that, and we'll just keep growing."
Stroud sees similarities to 2021, his redshirt freshman season at Ohio State, where he was competing for the starting job to replace Justin Fields. He won the competition and excelled for two seasons before entering this year's draft.
"I was a boy then, trying to be a young man, and now I'm a young man trying to be a man's man," he said. "I think I've gained the respect of the team just being myself, and I think everyone's gravitated towards that, just being a leader (and) building that winning culture we want here."
During the offseason program and approaching camp, Ryans was careful not to go overboard in his praise of Stroud.
When asked about his rookie quarterback, Ryans responded about the position, careful to include Mills and Keenum. Stroud has done enough on and off the field to impress his coaches, and Ryans has no reservations about heaping praise on him.
"The thing that's impressed me the most is his dedication to being the best he can possibly be," Ryans said. "He puts the work in – not only when he's here, of course, everybody does that, but what you see about C.J. (is) the work and the preparation he does when he's not here. He's a true football junkie. Loves football, always watching football, always asking for extra cutups from our coaches.
"I'm impressed with the mental part and how much he loves the game. When your guy has that much love for the game, (he'll) continue to improve."
Slowik will call plays. Johnson will spend more time with Stroud than any coach on the staff. They've worked closely with him since he reported for the rookie minicamp.
Ryans has seen Stroud make progress in a lot of areas, including one that's essential to success.
"His command of the huddle," Ryans said. "With college players now, a lot of it is looking to the sideline, and they see a signal or a picture, and that's their play. But here, we're asking them to operate from a huddle, which is new. Play calls can be long, and there's a lot of different terminology you have to learn. Seeing him grow in that area has been really good.
"The playbook hasn't been an issue. He knows the reads and the progressions (and) where he should go (with the ball). He's making the proper decisions with the ball."
There are things Ryans wants Stroud to continue working on to show marked improvement as the Texans get closer to starting preseason and then beginning the regular season against the Ravens.
"It's the small things -- footwork, progression, his eyes," Ryans said. "That's C.J. figuring those things out with his coach, working on just one thing a day. We're not trying to give him eight or 10 things to work on. We want to be dialed in and very deliberate on getting better each day."
The coaches love Stroud's personality. He's selfless, cool under pressure and determined to put in the work to eventually play like a second overall pick in the draft.
"It's kind of like being a point guard in basketball -- get everybody around me better," Stroud said. "I feel like I've done a decent job, but there's a lot of work to be done – trying to get better calling plays in the huddle -- operation, cadence, drops, footwork, having the right eyes and the right feet. It's been an adjustment, and I feel like I'm getting better and better."
Stroud is adjusting to Slowik's offense – similar to what Kyle Shanahan runs with the 49ers and Gary Kubiak utilized with the Texans.
"I fell in love with it," Stroud said. "It's a different style than what I played in college, but there's a lot of similarities to it, as well. Very timing-based. Once you set the foundation, that's when you spin things off and start (adding) nuances to the offense and making things into how we like to play football. I think Bobby is going to do that in a really special way. I'm open to anything. When you're playing football, you don't really have to listen to the outside world. Just focus on your craft."
The biggest difference in college football and the NFL is the same for Stroud and every player – the speed of the game.
"(There's) a lot of things that happen fast," he said. "They like to put pressure on the quarterback, which is great because that's what I'm going to get when I step into this league. Every day at practice, I might be seeing a new defense, a different look. Same coverage, different disguise. It's good to get your eyes up and see those types of things – see blitz patterns and how they switch it up. It's good to have that experience, but even at a higher level now, it's getting me better."
Stroud appreciates everyone who's helping him – coaches, offensive teammates and defensive teammates. They know the Texans' improvement is tied to the performance of the second-highest drafted quarterback in franchise history.
"It's a lot of late nights studying, a lot of early mornings studying and trying to know (offense) like the back of my hand," he said. "OTA's were big for me with the foundation of the offense, and I think I've taken that next step of (taking on) more responsibilities in training camp."
The coaches have been impressed with Stroud's attitude. He's even found something positive about Houston's heat and humidity.
"Yeah, the heat (helps us) get in a lot of wet-ball drills," he said.
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on SportsRadio 610 and before every practice during training camp on Texans Radio. He also writes three columns a week and does two Houtopia Football Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com.
