Rudolph to play with chip on his shoulder

QB irked by his 3rd-round selection

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There they were, two former college teammates, seeing each other and reuniting as new NFL teammates Saturday at Heinz Field. How ironic.

The only thing more appropriate is if they had met in the end zone.

After all, they had spent a lot of time there before.

Heinz Field has been a magical place for two of the newest Steelers — quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington. As teammates at Oklahoma State, they formed the most dangerous deep-passing combination in college football, one that was repeatedly on display against the Pitt Panthers each of the past two seasons. Especially at Heinz Field. On Sept. 16, Rudolph tortured Pitt by throwing for 423 yards and five touchdowns in the first half alone. Washington caught five of his passes for 124 yards.

A year earlier in Stillwater, Okla., Washington caught nine passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns, including a 91-yarder on the first play of the game.

“It all started with playing here last September,” Rudolph said. “It was cool.”

“We all just stepped on the field and did what we had to do,” Washington said. “Ultimately, it opened my eyes up to the Steelers.”

And it opened the eyes of the Steelers, right there in their own back yard.

Now they are hoping that magic will continue at Heinz Field and beyond.

“One had nothing to do with the other,” general manager Kevin Colbert said about drafting the two productive Oklahoma State playmakers. “But it’s a good thing [for them] to come in together. It helps to have a familiar face, especially a successful pair that those two have been.”

The previous time an NFL team drafted such a lethal passing combination from the same school was 2012 when the Indianapolis Colts took quarterback Andrew Luck with the first pick and tight end Coby Fleener in the second round. At Stanford, the duo combined for 83 receptions, 1,367 yards and 18 touchdowns in three seasons together.

Even that, though, doesn’t compare to the prodigious numbers Rudolph and Washington posted at Oklahoma State. Last year alone, Rudolph and Washington connected 74 times for 1,549 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Washington, who won the Biletnikoff Award as Football Bowl Subdivision’s outstanding receiver, had eight catches of at least 60 yards, including four of 82 yards or longer, in the past two seasons from Rudolph.

Now he gets to start his NFL career with his deepplay partner.

“He’s an unbelievable player,” Rudolph was saying Saturday, wearing a Steelers golf shirt before heading to Heinz Field for a fan event. “He’s going to add a lot of big plays. He’s a good character guy and an unbelievable talent. I saw his reaction [Friday] night when I was drafted and he was thrilled.”

The Steelers had a firstround grade on Rudolph and considered drafting him in the second round. But, because they traded Martavis Bryant Thursday to the Oakland Raiders, they felt a greater need to get a wide receiver with their second pick.

When Rudolph was still available Friday in third round, the Steelers moved up three spots, ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals, who were in the market for a backup quarterback, to take him with the 76th overall selection. Colbert called it a “very easy decision.”

“That was always the Alist of places I’d love to end up,” Rudolph said of the Steelers. “I had it in my mind. When it was going to happen and that’s not in my control. I’m happy to be here in the place I circled for a long time.”

Rudolph, though, both was surprised and upset he lasted until the third round. Especially after five quarterbacks were selected in the first round, including four in the first 10 picks.

He was the sixth quarterback taken, but it came 43 picks after Lamar Jackson went to the Baltimore Ravens with the 32nd pick in the first round. Rudolph called the discrepancy between the picks “unbelievable” and said he will carry the slight for a long time.

“No doubt, the chip is bigger than ever,” Rudolph said. “I know what kind of player I’ve been in college. I know what I’m going to be in the NFL. It’s time to let that be shown.

“People will understand this in the next 10 years. The next couple years, it will be clear.”

But when will Rudolph get to play?

Ben Roethlisberger has said he wants to play at least two to three more years, which, barring injury, means Rudolph wouldn’t get a chance to be a starter until at least 2020. Landry Jones will continue to be the top backup in 2018, though his contract expires after the season.

“That’s not my job to project anyone’s career,” Rudolph said. “It’s my job to work and control what I can control, regardless who plays. My approach to my preparation is the same — I’m going to prepare like I’m a starter, I’m going to have a great rookie minicamp and carry that over to OTAs [organized team activities]. That’s all I can do right now.”

Then he added, “This could end up being better. You may cut out a little of the growing pains and be able to learn a lot by watching.”