Jan 21, 2024 03:22 AM
https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/cj-s..._permalink
INTRO: Quarterback C.J. Stroud had a near sterling résumé ahead of last year’s NFL draft. He possessed a phenomenal arm, a veteran’s presence in the pocket, and a bunch of gaudy statistics from his days at Ohio State.
But shortly before draft day, a bright red flag emerged: Stroud had reportedly bombed a cognitive test that has been lauded for its uncanny ability to identify successful pros. In the freakout that followed, some pundits were convinced it meant that he was a surefire bust.
These days, any concerns about how Stroud performed on a neuroscience exam feel completely absurd. The 22-year-old, who was selected by the Texans with the No. 2 pick last April, just produced one of the best seasons ever for a rookie quarterback. Then he topped it by leading Houston to a 45-14 demolition of the Cleveland Browns in the opening round of the playoffs. If the Texans upset the No. 1 seed Baltimore Ravens this weekend to reach the AFC Championship, Stroud will likely be the main reason why.
The S2 evaluation, which is used everywhere from sports scouting to special forces training, has been touted for its accuracy in identifying which quarterbacks will succeed in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow both aced it. When it emerged that Brock Purdy, the out-of-nowhere star selected by the 49ers with the last pick of the 2022 draft, had recorded an elite S2 score, the test went mainstream. Suddenly, a wonky cognitive evaluation was seen as the solution to one of the mystifying problems in sports: how to evaluate NFL quarterback prospects.
Then Stroud’s brilliant play completely upended the narrative. “I’m not a test taker,” Stroud said last April. “I play football.”
In the wake of Stroud’s play this year, the S2 Cognition test has been ridiculed for whiffing on the best quarterback prospect to enter the NFL in years. That is unsurprisingly aggravating to the performance evaluation company’s two founders, a pair of cognitive neuroscientists named Brandon Ally and Scott Wylie. They say that Stroud’s result should never have leaked and that as soon as his score came in, it was flagged as potentially invalid and an unreliable result.
The debate over the S2’s value also strikes at the core of one of the most lucrative questions in professional sports. In an industry increasingly flooded with data, a test that can precisely calculate the capabilities of athletes is a panacea. But it isn’t yet a reality. And when the S2 exploded in popularity because of its early successes, that also led to a misinterpretation of what S2 says is its actual purpose: to tell coaches and general managers how an athlete is wired.
“There’s nothing on the planet that’s going to be a crystal ball,” says Ally, S2’s co-founder. “We can’t predict success.” (MORE - details)
INTRO: Quarterback C.J. Stroud had a near sterling résumé ahead of last year’s NFL draft. He possessed a phenomenal arm, a veteran’s presence in the pocket, and a bunch of gaudy statistics from his days at Ohio State.
But shortly before draft day, a bright red flag emerged: Stroud had reportedly bombed a cognitive test that has been lauded for its uncanny ability to identify successful pros. In the freakout that followed, some pundits were convinced it meant that he was a surefire bust.
These days, any concerns about how Stroud performed on a neuroscience exam feel completely absurd. The 22-year-old, who was selected by the Texans with the No. 2 pick last April, just produced one of the best seasons ever for a rookie quarterback. Then he topped it by leading Houston to a 45-14 demolition of the Cleveland Browns in the opening round of the playoffs. If the Texans upset the No. 1 seed Baltimore Ravens this weekend to reach the AFC Championship, Stroud will likely be the main reason why.
The S2 evaluation, which is used everywhere from sports scouting to special forces training, has been touted for its accuracy in identifying which quarterbacks will succeed in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow both aced it. When it emerged that Brock Purdy, the out-of-nowhere star selected by the 49ers with the last pick of the 2022 draft, had recorded an elite S2 score, the test went mainstream. Suddenly, a wonky cognitive evaluation was seen as the solution to one of the mystifying problems in sports: how to evaluate NFL quarterback prospects.
Then Stroud’s brilliant play completely upended the narrative. “I’m not a test taker,” Stroud said last April. “I play football.”
In the wake of Stroud’s play this year, the S2 Cognition test has been ridiculed for whiffing on the best quarterback prospect to enter the NFL in years. That is unsurprisingly aggravating to the performance evaluation company’s two founders, a pair of cognitive neuroscientists named Brandon Ally and Scott Wylie. They say that Stroud’s result should never have leaked and that as soon as his score came in, it was flagged as potentially invalid and an unreliable result.
The debate over the S2’s value also strikes at the core of one of the most lucrative questions in professional sports. In an industry increasingly flooded with data, a test that can precisely calculate the capabilities of athletes is a panacea. But it isn’t yet a reality. And when the S2 exploded in popularity because of its early successes, that also led to a misinterpretation of what S2 says is its actual purpose: to tell coaches and general managers how an athlete is wired.
“There’s nothing on the planet that’s going to be a crystal ball,” says Ally, S2’s co-founder. “We can’t predict success.” (MORE - details)