CJ Stroud was born in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and emerged from a challenging upbringing as the youngest of four children. His father, Coleridge Bernard Stroud, III, faced a 38-year sentence under California's three-strikes law, leading to severe financial debt and humble living conditions in a small apartment above a storage facility.

Despite these hardships, Stroud excelled on the football field, earning the title of Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Offensive Player of the Year during his senior year. Notably, he was named the MVP of the Elite 11 in 2019 and participated in the prestigious All-American Bowl in 2020.

Initially considered a 3-star recruit, Stroud rose to become the third-highest-rated quarterback of his class, eventually committing to Ohio State University to pursue college football. In an inspiring journey of friendship and talent, Stroud maintained a close bond with Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young since their high school days in Southern California, culminating in both being chosen as the first two picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Today, Stroud showcases his football prowess as a quarterback for the Houston Texans, demonstrating resilience and character forged through his remarkable life experiences and faith.

In our episode this week, Rob Maaddi talks about CJ and they talk together about their faith in God. Rob focused this week on the idea of pressure being a privilege. He said that “pressure creates stress in our lives. All of us. At some point, no matter what it is we do for a living we encounter, we deal with, we feel pressure. We feel stress.”

Maaddi spoke about how he handles stress, and his number one go-to is prayer.

Hear more about what Rob and CJ spoke about in this week’s episode “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”