Their friendship dates back long before they occupied the first and second place in the NFL draft of 2023.
Houston – The Field Marshal of the Houston Texans, C.J. Stroudhe ran from a band band in a training camp that was otherwise unemployed on Thursday, after an intense joint training with the Carolina Panthers.
A few meters away was Stroud's family and a childhood friend. His mother, Kimberly, and his brother Asmar, under a high and shaded medical tent, talked animatedly with the Panthers Marshal, Bryce Youngand his parents, Craig and Julie Young.
After the extra conditioning, Stud approached Young and his family.
It is not uncommon to see players from different teams to start a friendship, but this relationship is different. From 14-year-old football rivals in California to Basketball competitors of the AAU in the SEC wars, until 1-2 (Young-Stroud) in the 2023 draft, there is more than a simple professional affinity. “We really don't give much importance. I think it's for you,” said Stoud. “For us, it is the same: seeing a friend, seeing a brother.”
It is an important relationship for both. Young had a historically bad career start, while Stud, who was recruited for a much better team, won the offensive rookie award of the year. Last season, Stoud led the Texans with a 10-7 record to the playoffs and Young was sent to the bank with a 0-2 record before a final solid, with a balance of 2-1 in the final stretch.
In spite of everything, Stud and Young communicated regularly, passing the time from time to time, as they did this summer in an event in New York City. Their families have also become closer; Mothers still speak almost weekly.
“We will always be connected, but we don't try to overcome,” said Young to ESPN. “We both support each other.” We will always take care of each other, we will be aware, either in 'Sportscentr' or watching our games.
“We always support each other, so we will always be connected in that way in good and bad. That will never falter.”
YOUNG Y STROUD They met in the AAU and in itinerant basketball matches when they were 12 and 13 years in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and they were not afraid of informal parties.
“If you want to see them compete, that's where they really did,” he said Craig Young. “I just remember that they always argued who was the best player.”
Stud continued playing basketball in high school. Young left him to focus on football.
But it gives the feeling that they still joke about which one is better.
“Well, we play very differently,” said Young with a smile. “He is more shooter. I am more than those who have the ball.”
By the time they met in the American football field in 2015, Young measured approximately 5 feet 9 (1.75 m), only an inch (2.3 cm) less than now. “It was really good, so we didn't talk about its size,” said Keefe Pierson, president of the Young youth team, the Inland Empire Ducks.
The height was never a problem for Stud. It measured 6 feet 0 (1.83 m) then and now measures 6 feet 3 (1.90 m).
Pierson felt that Young always played with height before reaching the NFL. He believes will happen again.
“All his life has been special,” he said. “It was great in American youth football, great in high school, great at university. So why wouldn't it be in the NFL?”
Pierson recalled a fourth opportunity and goal pass from Yarda 12 at the end of the 2015 season as a clear example.
“It's the biggest team I've seen in my life,” said Pierson. “He throws a wheel route. This 6 feet boy 3 (1.90 m) jumps. He barely passes his hand. (Our boy) catches the ball and falls on tiptoe, almost touching the tip of the feet near the line with five remaining five seconds to win the game.
“That was Bryce's last release as Duck.”
The first confrontation In the field between Stoud and Young it was hardly carried out.
Both played in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Young's Ducks, in the desert Pacific region of the American Football Youth League, swept the regular season. The Pomona Valley Steelers of Stud were on the Snoop Youth Football League and won the Snoop Youth League Nationals.
Pierson compared it to the university rivalry between the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Gators. Both teams were in similar regions, but not at the same conference, so they did not face them annually.
The Ducks wanted to solve their differences in the field, but there was an obstacle.
The Steelers coach, Priest Brooks, initially did not want to play because his exhausting season would last until December, despite the fact that the Ducks had a national tournament in January. There was also tension between Pierson and the hip-hop star Snoop Dogg after the Ducks recruited the players that Snoop League wanted.
“There was a small fight on the Internet between (Keefe) and Snoop,” said Steelers assistant coach Mike Dedman. “One day, Snoop (I was on social networks) speaking of American football and said: 'Keefe, you are a crack'. Keefe took it as personal and did not want to play for a couple of years.”
The conflict between Pierson and Snoop Dogg finally calmed down. Some coaches of both leagues were in a youth American football chat group, and the jokes took Brooks to schedule the match for the second week of December.
“I think the boys really wanted to play,” Pierson said. “Everyone left their egos aside, and the boys got what they wanted.”
A cold and constant rain fell on the Ralph M. Lewis sports complex that December 10 years ago when the two 14 -year -old boys arrived for an exhibition match between the two best equipment and quarterbacks in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Young and the Ducks quickly threw themselves against the Steelers, and the victory was not at odds. Pierson remembered Young throwing two touchdown passes “with the tightrope.”
“There was a 45 -yard touchdown pass on a post route that was necessary in the annotation zone,” he said. “That was the dagger.”
Young was brilliant, throwing three touchdown passes, including two deep.
Stud had difficulties, launching two interceptions.
The Ducks won 22-0.
Craig Young said: “(Bryce) was very motivated that day … It was the time of the show, so I was ready to play.”
Young, faithful to his character, did not give much importance to his performance.
“I don't think there is an important thing,” he said about rivalry. “It was a fun game … something publicized.”
The right to presume Between Young and Stud in American football he never materialized. Despite Stribu's difficulties in his 2015 confrontation, Young saw positive aspects in his friend.
“His great leadership was noted,” said Young. “He always had a strong will, he always had his own path and was very believer.
“He really stood out for himself.”
Stroud's leadership shone as a rookie with the Texans, and his support for Young remained equally firm.
Craig Young commented that on several occasions Stud dedicated “positive words” during his son's rookie season and that “they meant a lot.”
Stud said: “I have seen the courage that (Young) has, and many people have not seen it, I know it dealt with some frustrations.” … It is good that we knew these ups and downs and we reject the important thing. “
That support link is something that others also saw, including Pierson.
“I could definitely see how they supported each other,” he said. “It's like having a twin brother. They are going through some of the same things, such as the face of the city.
“They could have been the other way around, where they began to feel resentment towards each other. O, 'Oh, now I am better.'
Young and Stribus families have continued to support each other.
“If experts and media want to make comparisons, it's fine,” said Craig Young. “(But) we support each other. We all know how difficult it was to get here. We know the scrutiny to which our children submit, so we appreciate each other more.”
Comparisons will continue when childhood friends face this Saturday's preseason game and see the faces again in 2027, when the Texans and Panthers are measured in a regular seasonal match.
“It's great to see these boys live their dreams and all that,” said Pierson. “They will always be linked. There will always be a debate about which one is better. It is a healthy competition. There is nothing wrong with healthy competition.
“Within 15 years, they will continue writing the story of who is the best field marshal. It would be great for the Hall of Fame to enter the same year.”
