On the night of the 2022 Heisman Trophy ceremony, CJ Stroud’s journey took a profound turn. Although he lost the Heisman to Caleb Williams, CJ’s response was anything but defeat. Instead, it ignited a fire and encouraged him to embark on an extraordinary journey that eventually led to him becoming the 2023 NFL Rookie of the Year.
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As the festivities unfolded, CJ Stroud’s mother received an unexpected call, a recorded message from none other than President Joe Biden. At that moment, amidst the celebration, she had a revelation about the uniqueness of their family journey, which she mentioned to KHOU 11 during their conversation.
“Here’s this big thing, and all these, everybody’s celebrating,” she reminisced, “and we get a call from the president, you know, and it has a recorded call, and it just, it dawned on me like just how unique our family is.”
On top of it, CJ Stroud’s mother, Kimberly, also reaffirmed how important it is to embrace uniqueness.
“No matter where you come from, your situation would be very unique, but that doesn’t take from who you are.”
Well, the No. 2 overall pick indeed proved her right. The Houston Texans quarterback became the hit debutante who brought significant limelight to his team. Not only did CJ Stroud boost the offense, but he managed to earn the AFC South title and an appearance in the divisional round of the playoffs.
However, the Heisman Trophy ceremony gave CJ another moment of clarity that helped him come to terms with his past.
CJ Stroud Opened Up About His Dad’s Struggles with Substance
Although CJ Stroud had to face harsh defeat in the Heisman Trophy, he found a moment of clarity which Kimberley describes as a ‘triumph’ amidst all the adversity. In her candid interview with KHOU 11, she revealed that the defeat even encouraged the Texans QB to speak publicly about his father and their situation, embracing vulnerability with grace.
“That’s when he started speaking publicly about his father and speaking publicly about the situation… and I think that that’s kinda been, you know, just the triumph in all of this,” she revealed.
CJ Stroud’s proud mother shed light on the challenges they faced as a family due to the quarterback’s father and his substance abuse.
“CJ’s father had a substance abuse problem. He struggled with that and it led to, you know, different things in his life that transpired to put him in prison,” she shared her honest opinion.
With his father absent, CJ Stroud and his siblings were raised by their mother, who bore the weight of parenting alone. Despite the adversity they faced, CJ’s mother is proud of their journey, especially as it helped CJ make a mark in the NFL despite an ocean of adversities.
