A decade before he became the Offensive Rookie of the Year in the NFL, C.J. Stroud was honing his game in Snoop Dogg’s youth football league.
Stroud joined the Pomona Steelers when he was 12 years old and, in a recent interview with ESPN, credited his two years playing in Snoop’s Los Angeles-area league a decade ago with helping him on his path to a starring role with the Houston Texans.
“Being who I am and growing up in Southern California, you get to dabble in a lot of different cultures,” the 22-year-old Stroud, who grew up 40 miles from downtown LA in Rancho Cucamonga (CA), told ESPN. “I get 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.
“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.”
Stroud’s mother Kimberly admitted in the story that she initially had reservations about her son joining the rap legend’s league.
“When we went to the actual practices, [we] saw how everybody was so professional and great people. So don’t judge a book by its cover,” Kimberly Stroud said. “The Snoop Dogg league was super instrumental in C.J. ‘s journey.
“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.”
The league was created in 2005 for kids between the ages of 5-13 and has more than a dozen teams, with the seven-game season culminating with the two finalists meeting in the “Snooper Bowl.”
“Kids in other communities didn’t have football that met the prices that their mothers could afford,” Snoop Dogg told ESPN. “At the same time opening up to other kids, as well, but the initial thought was to help out the urban inner-city and give them opportunities to play.”
Stroud starred collegiately at Ohio State before the Texans selected him with the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The rookie quarterback threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns in leading the Texans to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
“It’s special because [Stroud] is exactly what we breed kids to be,” the rap icon told ESPN. “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.”
