ATLANTA — Georgia has seen some pretty great quarterbacks in recent years, especially in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Joe Burrow and Bryce Young are two recent Heisman winners who picked apart Georgia’s defense on their way to beating the Bulldogs.

And while Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud couldn’t quite get the victory over Georgia, he earned plenty of respect from the Georgia team after his performance in the 42-41 classic.

“CJ is a great quarterback,” linebacker Smael Mondon said. “He’s just a really good quarterback. He made a lot of good plays.”

Stroud finished the game with 348 passing yards and four touchdowns. He took a physical beating as Georgia sacked him 4.0 times but it’s a credit to Stroud and his mobility that the number wasn’t higher. Georgia had him in its grasp multiple times, only for the Ohio State quarterback to slither out and make another big play.

The loss to Georgia was likely Stroud’s final game as the quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, as his performance against Georgia illustrated why he’s a top NFL quarterback prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft cycle.

Stroud in defeat also demonstrated his character and humility when discussing the Georgia team.

“Georgia’s defense, offense, they fought too,” Stroud said. “Helluva team, great team. Coach Smart, Coach Muschamp, D.C., did a helluva job.”

The Ohio State quarterback lamented afterward that he couldn’t make one more play for his team. Even though he led the Buckeyes into field goal range on their final drive after Stetson Bennett put Georgia back on top with 54 seconds remaining in the game.

He constantly put the Buckeyes in a position to where they could’ve, and perhaps should’ve, won the game against Georgia. Kirby Smart and Stetson Bennett made that very clear in their post-game comments.

“I saw C.J. Stroud out there, and my heart goes out to those guys because they played well enough to win the game,” Smart said. “They got a really good football team.”

After his performance against Georgia, you can see why the Bulldogs made such a push to land Stroud as a part of the 2020 signing cycle. His athletic gifts should make it crystal clear that he could play for this team.

But it’s also important to note that he would’ve fit in seamlessly in the Georgia culture from a mental aspect as well. Georgia players will tell that playing for Smart is not for everybody.

Stroud more than showed why he was one of the best players in the country this season. And why the Bulldogs are very glad he’ll be off making some NFL team happy next season.

“I tried my hardest to get us down here. I got to maybe split somebody else, make another move, just try to get a little more, but I tried my hardest,” Stroud said. “I think I left my heart out on that field. Of course, it’s something that’s heavy on the heart. It’s going to be tough, but I’d rather -- I don’t want to go out there with anybody else.

“I love my teammates so much. We put everything on the line, and I would never want to do it with anybody else.”

CJ Stroud praises Georgia football program

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