Tag: Jake Rudock

Michigan’s 2016 Pro Day Results

Jake Rudock

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Oddly, Michigan held its Pro Day yesterday and not much was said about it. The hypemaster himself, Jim Harbaugh, didn’t drum up a lot of a media attention for once, so very little news has trickled out so far. Maybe he didn’t want to try to overshadow the Michigan basketball game against Notre Dame.

Anyway, a recap from Gil Brandt can be found here (LINK) and I’ll update news as more things come. I do expect other news, including about Sione Houma, Desmond Morgan, Joe Bolden, James Ross III, and others.

Hit the jump for the compiled results.

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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.

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Poll results: Who was Michigan’s 2015 MVP?

Zach Gentry, Shane Morris, and Jake Rudock

Several weeks ago, I posted a poll asking, Who was the MVP of Michigan’s 2015 season? Here were the results of the poll:

QB Jake Rudock: 77%

WR Jehu Chesson: 9%

CB Jourdan Lewis: 9%

S Jabrill Peppers: 2%

TE Jake Butt: 1%

Other: 1%

DL Willie Henry: 1%

DL Chris Wormley: 1%

(Yes, I realize that because of rounding, the percentages add up to 101%.)

My vote went to Jake Rudock, who struggled early but played extremely well during the second half of the season. With any other quarterback on the roster leading the team, Michigan wouldn’t have approached 10 wins, in my opinion. I don’t know if the same can be said about any other individual player.

What’s your argument for your pick?

2015 Position Grades: Quarterback

Jake Rudock

STATS
Jake Rudock: 13 starts, 249/389 (64%), 3,017 yards, 20 TDs, 9 INTs, 141.5 PER
Wilton Speight: 0 starts, 9/25 (36%), 73 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 65.7 PER

STORY
Jake Rudock joined Michigan as a graduate transfer from Iowa in the summer of 2015. That meant that he missed all of the spring practice session, as well as a chance to do voluntary workouts over the summer with his future teammates. When he started Michigan’s season opener against Utah on September 3, he had only been in the system for approximately one month. Because of that, it was a bit of a rough start to the year. There’s a good chance that Michigan would have turned that 24-17 loss to Utah into a victory if Rudock was in late-season form, but that’s how football goes. His passer efficiency rating topped 120 only twice during the first seven games, and those two were contests when the run game carried the day (Rudock had 1 TD and 0 INTs vs. BYU and Northwestern). In the final six games, the running game bogged down, but his PER never dipped below 124. In the first seven games, he threw 5 TDs and 6 INTS; in the final six, he threw 16 TDs and 3 INTS. He finished second in the conference in passer rating, #3 in yards per attempt, and #4 in touchdowns. It was a fantastic turnaround when Michigan needed him most, and with the way he finished the season, people are now talking about his prospects as an NFL player.

Early in the year, Shane Morris was the second quarterback on the depth chart, but Michigan hoped to redshirt him and kept him off the field. As the season wore on, Jim Harbaugh reported that Wilton Speight passed Morris on the depth chart. Speight wasn’t needed for any important playing time until Rudock got hurt against Minnesota; Speight went 3/6 for 29 yards and the game-winning TD. He also stepped in against Ohio State for a stretch, but his non-Minnesota performances were subpar. The backup situation was concerning, but it never cost Michigan a game.

GRADE: B+

2016 DEPTH CHART BY CLASS: Shane Morris (RS Jr.), John O’Korn (RS Jr.), Wilton Speight (RS So.), Zach Gentry (RS Fr.), Alex Malzone (RS Fr.), Brandon Peters (Fr.)

2016 East-West Shrine Game

Jake Rudock

The East-West Shrine Game will be held on January 23, 2016, at 4:00 p.m. EST. The broadcast will be on NFL Network. This is a chance for seniors to showcase themselves prior to the NFL Combine and Draft.

The East team will be coached by head coach Charlie Weis, QB coach Brady Quinn, WR coach Troy Brown, RB coach Mike Alstott, DB coach Sam Madison, and others. The West team will be headed by June Jones with a bunch of former Atlanta Falcons players and coaches.

Michigan seniors Joe Bolden, Graham Glasgow, and Jake Rudock will be participating. Various others from the Big Ten or from Michigan’s recruiting past will be participating. Hit the jump for the rest of the list:

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