Goodbye, Jake Rudock

Jake Rudock (image via Pro Football Focus)

All the cool people are following me on Twitter (LINK). Also, Facebook (LINK). Literally, one person follows me on Pinterest (LINK), partly because I’m not in the business of sharing recipes. If I were, though, you would be blown away by my chocolate chip cookies.

Previously: Desmond Morgan, Blake O’Neill

HIGH SCHOOL
Michigan did not recruit Rudock coming out of high school in 2011, so I was only vaguely aware of him as an Iowa commit. He was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #24 pro-style quarterback, #651 overall, and #91 in Florida out of Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas. Rudock committed to the Hawkeyes in July of 2010. He also fielded offers from Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, among others. (Coincidentally, the current front-runner for the Michigan QB job in 2016, John O’Korn, is also a St. Thomas Aquinas product. O’Korn graduated in 2013 and played his first two college seasons at Houston before transferring.)

COLLEGE
Rudock redshirted in 2011 and did not play at all in 2012, sitting behind starter James Vandenberg. He won the starting job as a redshirt sophomore in 2013, completing 59% of his passes for 2,383 yards, 18 TDs, and 13 INTs – plus 218 yards and 5 TDs on the ground – while going 8-5 as the starter. He stepped up his play in 2014 (62% completions, 2436 yards, 16 TDs, 5 INTs), but not enough to hold off calls for backup C.J. Beathard. After the season but before 2015 spring practices, Beathard was named the starter by head coach Kirk Ferentz. That signaled the end of the road for Rudock at Iowa, and he started exploring grad transfer options. He reportedly reached out to the staff at Michigan, but Jim Harbaugh had yet to see the current Michigan quarterbacks in action and wanted a look at them first. Once he saw what he was working with . . . he reciprocated Rudock’s interest. The two parties agreed to move forward together, and Rudock joined the team for August practices. It was a bit of a rocky beginning when Michigan lost to Utah. Rudock threw 3 interceptions in the contest, and some were wondering whether Michigan made the right decision. But that was his only multiple-interception game of the season, and the team went 10-3 on the year. Despite a rough first half to the season (6 TDs, 6 INTs in the first six games), he ended up with 20 TDs and 9 INTs on the year, along with the #2 passing yardage total in school history (3,017 yards).

Hit the jump for more on the career of Jake Rudock.

STATS
2015: 249/389 passing (64%), 3017 yards, 20 TDs, 9 INTs, 141.5 PER;
58 carries for 166 yards (2.9 yards/carry), 4 TDs

AWARDS
Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (2015)
Academic All-Big Ten (2013, 2014)

SUMMARY
As basically a one-year rental at the quarterback position, it’s hard not to look at his tenure here in a way other than: What would Michigan have done without him? And that’s a potentially scary what-if question. Seth from MGoBlog had a pretty good article on that idea just yesterday (LINK), and it shows that the offense under backup Wilton Speight was not nearly as productive as when Rudock was on the field. The only other viable option would have been Shane Morris, but Morris has been mostly terrible in his opportunities so far (0 TDs, 4 INTs in 2013-2014 before redshirting in 2015). Speight or Morris would have improved if they were getting starter’s reps, but instead of 10-3, we might be looking at a 7-5 season or worse. Imagine the difference in perception and momentum for the program if Michigan were 7-5 or 6-6 instead of hitting a double-digit win total. Additionally, if Rudock had been working under Harbaugh for more than a month when the season began, the Wolverines probably would have beaten Utah in the opener; and the Michigan State game may have been too far out of reach for the Spartans to win on a last-second botched punt snap. That game against MSU was the last of Rudock’s so-so efforts to begin the season, and the next week he began a string of games where he would throw 14 TDs and just 3 INTs. I’ll stop short of suggesting Michigan would have beaten Ohio State with a more developed Rudock/Harbaugh relationship, but it’s entirely feasible that the Wolverines would have been 11-0 instead of 9-2 heading into the showdown with the Buckeyes (the Wolverines lost those two earlier games by a combined total of 11 points). Furthermore, if Rudock had some more time under Harbaugh, there’s a good chance we would be talking about him as a potential mid-round pick instead of probably an undrafted free agent. But if ifs and buts were candy and nuts . . .

PROJECTION
Michigan’s Pro Day is coming up, and Rudock will have to shine there to improve his stock if he wants to get drafted. He’s not huge (6’3″, 208 lbs.), he doesn’t have a cannon for an arm, he’s not a great runner, etc. None of his physical attributes stand out. But he is smart, humble, and eager. He kept his head on straight when things didn’t go great early in the season, and he improved significantly throughout the year. He could have bad-mouthed Iowa on the way out of town, but he chose not to do so. On the field he’s a pretty accurate passer, has a strong enough arm to get the job done, makes smart decisions, and can surprise some people with his mobility. He also has Harbaugh, a well respected coach, putting in a good word for him. I don’t think Rudock will get drafted, because he only played really well for a six-game stretch. But I am confident that he will get signed as an undrafted free agent, and I don’t see much of a reason why he couldn’t stick around for a while as an NFL backup or spot starter. After all, it’s a league that employs Austin Davis, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, A.J. McCarron, and Zach Mettenberger in prominent #1 or #2 quarterback roles.

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