Ohio State's Ryan Day addresses C.J. Stroud cognitive test concerns

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has responded to former Buckeye quarterback C.J. Stroud allegedly posting a poor score in the S2 Cognition Test. 

"I wasn't sure about it because when I was in the NFL, this wasn't a test," Day said during ESPN's coverage ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, as shared by Hunter Hodies of The Spun. "This morning, I actually met with the folks on Zoom (who created the test) and I learned quite a few things about it. First off, it's all about your eye reaction and pressing buttons. There's no IQ test. There's no question and answer. I also learned that the information that had been leaked, which I'm assuming it was for some strategic reason, that some of those test scores weren't accurate." 

Day added that taking a leaked score and using it to make an evaluation of somebody was "irresponsible."

Bob McGinn previously reported for GoLongTD that Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young produced a total S2 Cognition Test score of 98% and that Stroud’s total score was a lackluster 18%. As Day alluded to, however, test co-founder Brandon Ally later told "The Pat McAfee Show" that at least two of the leaked scores were "not accurate at all." 

Stroud shrugged off concerns while speaking with reporters on Wednesday and somewhat defiantly said he is a football player and "not a test-taker." 

According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic and Eric Edholm of the NFL's website, the S2 Cognition Test lasts 40-45 minutes and is viewed as a "40-yard dash for the brain" and is used by clubs "to assess athletes' ability to process information." Barrows added that quarterback Brock Purdy "landed in the mid-90s" with his test score before the San Francisco 49ers made him the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft and before Purdy became a rookie sensation and the team's presumed starter once he's healthy. 

It remains to be seen if any club will leak that it either dropped Stroud in its rankings or removed him from its draft board entirely over a test score that may or may not have been correct. 

"I know I have God-given talent -- not only to play the game, but to have IQ," Stroud said on Wednesday. "I think I'm very smart. I think if I'm not the smartest QB in this draft then I'm one of the smartest in this draft and in the NFL."