With my apologies to all the fans of that other team up north, I want to drop a name familiar to all in the Buckeye Nation, a name we wish was still playing for Ohio State – Coleridge Bernard “C. J.” Stroud, IV. “Stroud was a five-star quarterback at Rancho Cucamonga, California, high school. Stroud, a top-50 player in country, was the second-ranked pro-style quarterback in the class of 2020… In the 25 games Stroud played in as a starter, Ohio State won 21 games…”1
In all, Stroud played in 27 games. His percentage of completed passes is 69.3% over 8,123 yards. Of the 830 attempted passes, only 12 were intercepted. That’s a mere 1.4%! Eighty-five of those passes resulted in touchdowns. Now, as the QB for the Houston Texans, Stroud has tied or broken several records in his rookie career.
If I haven’t lost you yet, stick with me a bit longer. As Stroud entered the NFL draft, he had to take an S2 Cognition test. “The S2 Cognition test is a 35-40-minute assessment designed to gauge an individual’s data processing rate. S2 Cognition has examined 40,000 sportspeople and has partnerships with 14 NFL clubs, according to co-founder and neuroscientist Brandon Ally, who spoke with The Athletic two months ago…The test, which is becoming increasingly well-liked, is completed on a customized laptop computer and evaluates how quickly athletes “process and make split-second decisions in their sport.””2
In the NFL draft, Stroud was the second choice in the first round which is very impressive. However, he didn’t do well with the S2 Cognition test, bringing the validity of the results into question. Stroud’s score “was flagged as potentially invalid and an unreliable result.”3 
How well do you do under pressure? If you were to take a test tailored for your skill set and the pressure was applied, would you fail? Or would your results be flagged as potentially invalid? Stroud’s abilities on the field were undeniable. He just didn’t test well.
Our Christian faith is going to be tested every day. Often, we are going to be questioned for our beliefs. Looking back to those situations, you may be a bit discouraged because you feel that you didn’t test well. What could you do to test better?
1 Peter 3:15 gives some answers. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” First, we are to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts. That means that we set our hearts aside for the rule and reign of the Lord. Athletes might say that they must get “focused” and “get their heads in the game,” 
removing all distractive thoughts. The Christian must go deeper than the thinking. It must be a heart issue.
Next, we must get ready for man’s questions. Stroud has a playbook and he reviews plays, knowing how to call them, and how to direct his team. Our playbook is the Bible. We must know it inside and out. The only way to do that is to STUDY. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study [be diligent] to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Finally, the NFL QB has a headset in his helmet. A coach on the sideline is giving him instructions. As Christians, we have internal communication going on all the time. It’s the Holy Spirit, communicating God’s plan to our hearts. The disciples were told in Luke 12:11-12, “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: (12) For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.”
Have we done our part in getting ready for the challenges of the day? The pressure is on, and we want to leave the field as winners.
1https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2023-04-27/cj-stroud-college-football-career-stats-highlights-records
2https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/what-s2-cognition-test-all-need-know-cognition-testing-method-hyping-anthony-richardson
3https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/report-cj-stroud-s-low-s2-cognitive-score-was-flagged-as-unreliable-and-potentially-invalid/ar-BB1gZPdA?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=35cbb0c74b014e4c9fea8ea94ef8e5a4&ei=108
