Texans' C.J. Stroud reveals how Snoop Dogg played vital role in his NFL career
Stroud participated in Snoop's youth football league growing up
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One, two, three to the four … Snoop Doggy Dogg and C.J. Stroud are at the door.
If the NFL were to do over a draft, the Houston Texans quarterback might be the first overall pick.
Stroud led his squad to the playoffs with an outstanding rookie season, and it should surprise nobody if, and likely when, he is in the MVP conversation this season.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Before becoming one of the best young talents in the NFL, he was dominating youth football, but not just any league.
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C.J. Stroud played in the Snoop Youth Football League as a child. (Getty Images)
The league he played in, the Snoop Youth Football League, was founded by Snoop Dogg.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stroud and Snoop are both Southern California natives, and Stroud is credited for his ability to "understand people for whatever they really are."
"I’m able to kind of relate to people really well. God has blessed me with that skill," Stroud recently told ESPN.
When he left his original youth league to find more competition, Snoop's league was a match.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I was so competitive and wanted to win, so I was like, ‘I have to find a way to be a leader and relate to these guys.’ That was my first step. … It was good for me to learn, this is how you build a brotherhood. I wasn’t even thinking about that back then. But now that I’m older, that’s what that was," he said.
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud warms up before a 2024 AFC divisional round game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore Jan. 20, 2024. (Tommy Gilligan/USA Today Sports)
"The Snoop Dogg league was super instrumental in C.J.’s journey," Stroud's mother, Kimberly, said. "It was a village that raised C.J. Stroud, and it wasn’t just his mother. It was mainly God, but he put people on our path to help C.J. along his journey. The Snoop Dogg league was one of those."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stroud's on-field talent speaks for itself, but Snoop is most impressed with Stroud's character.
"It’s special because [Stroud] is exactly what we breed kids to be," Snoop said. "Good students, good athletes, respecting their elders, their parents and being a great listener. C.J. was a great listener. That’s why he’s translating on that football field into a great leader. I like to get information from him because he’s the future. … So, to be able to tap in with the youth and stay active, that’s a gift, and I love the fact that my football league has created that."
Snoop Dogg during WrestleMania Goes Hollywood at SoFi Stadium April 1, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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Stroud threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns his rookie season and figures to improve on each of those numbers after the Texans acquired Stefon Diggs in the offseason.
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