Resilience is a necessary quality in a young quarterback, and Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has seen plenty of it from rookie signal caller C.J. Stroud in offseason practices.
Stroud had a challenging practice in the final day of mandatory minicamp June 14 at Houston Methodist Training Center. While Ryans doesn’t expect Stroud to be perfect, he did get what he wanted in terms of learning from inevitable mistakes.
“For a quarterback you have to have a short memory,” Ryans said. “You can’t let one bad play become three bad plays, right? Put that behind you. You’re going to make some bad plays, but as long as it doesn’t matriculate into other bad plays, then I’m fine with that.”
Stroud’s resolve to improve has already made an impression on the newly-minted coach, which is sure to be a good omen heading into Houston’s month-long break ahead of training camp.
“To see him and see his resolve, the way he was able to come back, compete, drive the offense down for a touchdown there at the end of practice — that was pretty cool to see,” said Ryans.
Stroud nevertheless remains entrenched in a quarterback battle with third-year Davis Mills, who has been the incumbent since 2021. In order for Stroud to convincingly seize the reins, the No. 2 overall pick will need to maintain his unflappable resolve in the face of correctable errors.
