Fact or Fiction: CJ Stroud will be the No. 1 overall pick in 2023
In today’s Fact or Fiction national columnist Mike Farrell looks at three big recent topics in college football and decides whether each statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.
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1. CJ Stroud will be the first pick in 2023.
Farrell's Take: FACT. After his pro day recently everyone is raving about the Ohio State quarterback and already projecting him as a top pick, or the top pick, in the NFL Draft next April. And I agree. But wait, isn’t Alabama’s Bryce Young available? Yes, he is, and there is a rumored campaign to be Bad for Bryce in Atlanta but Stroud is bigger and I fear the recent issues with Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray may hurt Young.
Sounds dumb, right? Mayfield’s lack of height didn’t really make him a bust and Murray’s lack of size is less of an issue than his attitude, but NFL teams are finicky. And they look at trends. The knock on Young is his lack of size, always has been, and while he’s a first-rounder for sure with another big year Stroud might surpass him.
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2. Urban Meyer will coach in college football again.
Farrell's Take: FICTION. Why is this coming up? Well, more and more details about what a disaster Urban Meyer was in Jacksonville are coming to the surface and while I’d selfishly like to see him back in college football as an elite recruiter and great coach, I don’t see even the most desperate athletic director getting this past the administration. We have seen the last of Urban as a head coach anywhere.
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3. Stetson Bennett is the best QB in the SEC East.
Farrell's Take: FICTION. Stetson Bennett is a national title winner and beat out some highly-ranked quarterbacks at Georgia, but to me it’s going to be either Anthony Richardson at Florida if he can stay healthy or Spencer Rattler at South Carolina if he can get it together.
But Bennett still has the best chance to win it all of any of them and I’m curious to see how much he develops next season in the eyes of the NFL.