Third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud suggested his and his head coach’s faith in Jesus Christ were a big reason why his team, the Houston Texans, had found success on the gridiron and made the playoffs in each year of their NFL tenure in their respective positions. The comments came after a victory securing a spot in the league’s postseason.
For context, Stroud has long put his faith in Christ first when addressing reporters on the field or in staged press conferences. He joins a growing trend of young quarterbacks such as Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, and Patrick Mahomes as prominent voices uplifting the message of Christ. He and his coach had a chance to once again speak about the role faith has played in their team’s success, unity in the locker room, and relationships with one another.
“Look at the guy we serve, somebody that has had his hand on us and his team. And so I’m just grateful that I’m with somebody who is a believer like I am. And lives his life as such. a great family man. somebody who loves ball,” Stroud said in reference to head coach DeMeco Ryans, a man who has prioritized faith since joining the team in that role.
Continuing, Stroud said Ryans’ mentorship and leadership demanded both excellence but also humility, reflecting core values of their Savior. “One thing that sticks off to me from him is like, if he doesn’t understand something, he’s going to come ask for and he is demanding of excellence. So that’s something that I’ve grown and learned about him, and I’m just grateful to be part of this journey with him and everybody to the front office to our to my teammates.”
Adding to that, Stroud then brought up how it was encouraging and refreshing to see an NFL head coach mention Christ in these settings. “But I just, it’s not surprising to me, you know, even though it is cool and it’s amazing, and I am sometimes shocked on just how the Lord has used me, but also him as well. So I think even his press conference where he said it was dope, you know, you don’t see a lot of head coaches doing that, so it’s just the truth that he lives behind is the reason why we’ve had success in these first couple years,” he finished.
Watch Stroud comment on his faith and his coach below:
Stroud, of course, was specifically referring to DeMeco Ryans’ earlier comments made in the same press conference.
Asked about the game, Ryans immediately segued to his Christian faith. “First to start, as always, know the light is shining bright on the Texans, but that light is really reflective of our guys belief in the Lord and Savior, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, like that. That’s what’s driven our team,” he began.
He continued discussing the pride he shared for his players before discussing any element of the game itself. “And I’m so proud of our guys and thankful to the Lord for allowing us to allow our lights to shine through him, and just all praise and honor goes to him, just really proud of every person on this team and organization for putting us in a spot to go play in the playoffs.”
“It’s what you play for. It’s what you work hard for throughout training camp, what you fight in the season for us, for an opportunity to be in the playoffs and go win at all. So we’ve earned that. It wasn’t given to us. Our guys went out and earned it, and we’re extremely proud of everybody for that,” he finished.
Watch DeMaco Ryans expound on his and his team’s faith below:
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video