Rudolph’s stock rises fast at QB

not necessarily mean Landry Jones will leave. The Steelers are not cap-strapped to where his $1.9 million salary taxes them. They also had veteran quarterbacks as No. 3 in the past, such as 2012 when Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch were Roethlisberger’s backups.

Rudolph showed them enough this spring that few in the organization will be surprised if he earns the No. 2 job this year.

“Mason’s been everything we’ve asked, for sure,” Fichtner said. “Throws, obviously, a nice ball. The physical things are all there. Obviously, mentally and learning is an acquired taste; that’s going to come through reps, physical reps, in-helmet perspectives, things that you’re not going to get and it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Rudolph pronounced his first pro spring a good one.

“I was really happy. I think I had a great minicamp.”

He does not lack the confidence needed for the position, and that surfaced in how he commanded the huddle.

“I’ve had that since day one. That’s not an issue with me. You can command the huddle when you know what you’re doing.”

Like all the rookies, Rudolph will continue workouts at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex through next Wednesday, then head home to South Carolina..

“I’m going to stay in my own world. I’ll blow up the offensive staff’s cell phones. Hopefully, they pick up while they’re on vacation.”

• Another rookie who made a big impression is hybrid halfback Jaylen Samuels, aka Le’Veon Bell Jr. The Steelers drafted him in the fifth round from North Carolina State, where he did what Bell does for the Steelers — halfback, split wide, wildcat quarterback, even H-back. Coaches have him doing all the things to mimic Bell, and he did many of them well.

“When you get a chance to script a practice ... what you do is you pop in No. 38 and take a look at N.C. State and say what can he do that’s like 26?” Fichtner said. “And you say, wow, OK, he can do that, he might not be able to do that, he’s not ready for that, we’ll be able to do that. So you can put him in those positions to be able to do that.”

New receivers coach Darryl Drake was equally impressed.

“He’s been mostly with the running backs,” Drake said. “He’s a hybrid guy who can move around and do some things. I like his skill set. He has an ability to run good routes, body positioning, catching the ball. There is a definite place for him.

“Randy does a great job of getting those guys in the position they need to be in. He’s done some great things out here. It’s something we want to push and get him going fast because he has a tremendous amount of ability.”

At 6-feet, 225, Samuels is listed at the same weight as Bell and is one inch shorter, although the Steelers would like him to lose a few pounds. If the Steelers and Bell do not reach a contract agreement by July 16, he must play under the franchise tag as he did last season. And like last season, Bell likely won’t sign that one-year deal before Labor Day.