The Ohio State Buckeyes will be styling and profiling.
Ohio State hosts Notre Dame in its season-opener on Saturday, and quarterback CJ Stroud wanted his teammates’ appearance to be tip-top.
“I just wanted to something for the team, so I got everybody $500 gift cards to Express,” he informed the team at practice earlier this week. “Get y’all own suits, man. Make sure you’re looking fly.”
Stroud has an NIL deal with the clothier. It’s unclear how much of this gift came out of pocket for him — the video has garnered over a million views on Twitter alone, so Express has certainly gotten some positive exposure from it. Regardless, it was a solid gesture to be thinking of his teammates.
Head coach Ryan Day praised quarterback.
“That’s just an example of something that he wanted to do,” Day told reporters on Thursday. “Nobody asked him to do that. He kind of surprised me with it. But I think that’s the brotherhood, and that’s what it’s all about. You don’t typically come to Ohio State because of the guys on the team.
“A lot of times you don’t really even know who the guys on the team are. … But once you are here, the reason you play so hard, what motivates you are your teammates. And I think that just goes to show you, in a short period of time, how close this team has become, and C.J. has really become a leader.”
Stroud is entering his junior season at Ohio State, and second year as a starter. In 2021, he completed over 70 percent of his passes and threw 44 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He was a finalist for the Heisman trophy, which ultimately went to Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.
Express is not Stroud’s only NIL opportunity; he also has a deal with a Canton car dealer Sarchione Auto Gallery for him to drive luxury vehicles.
In June, Stroud initially was set to drive $150,000 Bentley Bentayga, but he ultimately “changed his mind” and went with a $200,000 Mercedes G Wagon instead.