‘BROTHERS’: Why Rudolph and Washington will be tethered even after their OSU days are over
CSTILLWATER — onsider for a moment all the times that Mason Rudolph and James Washington have been together on a football field. Hundreds in total. Dozens in public. And yet, whether you watch Oklahoma State football in person or via media, you don’t often see the quarterback and the wide receiver together. They don’t sit side by side and commiserate. They don’t huddle together and plot. They don’t seem to be attached at the hip.
A search of our photo archives reveals only two shots by our intrepid photographers where both players are in the frame
And yet, they are forever tied together.
“Fans are going to have certain associations,” Cowboy offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich said. “Whether it’s Weeden and Blackmon around here, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, there’s been great teammates over the years, and those two certainly ... have been exceptional.
“That’s probably an understatement.”
On a day that the Cowboys play their final home game of the season, nearly two dozen seniors will be feted. They include difference-makers, showstoppers and program pillars who will leave a huge void when gone.
None of those seniors, though, have meant more to OSU football than Rudolph and Washington — and it’s impossible to think of one without the other.
“Made a lot of plays from the beginning of our careers together,” Rudolph said. “A lot of good moments. A lot of deep touchdown throws.”
Rudolph and Washington aren’t the first
Cowboys to hitch their wagons to each other in this pass-happy era. Josh Fields and Rashaun Woods were first, combining for over 3,000 yards and more than 30 touchdowns in the early 2000s.
Then along came Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon a decade later; they also passed those 3,000-yard, 30-touchdown benchmarks.
So too have Rudolph and Washington.
I’m not here to say who was best.
The first two tandems reached great heights playing only two-plus seasons together.
Rudolph and Washington have been together for three-plus.
But here’s something unique to Rudolph and Washington — they built their synergy on the deep ball. It’s football’s most exciting play, the home run of the sport.
And this pitcher and catcher have hit it better than any other
battery.
Just look at the career receiving numbers.
Woods: 4,414 receiving yards on 293 catches.
Blackmon: 3,564 on 253 catches.
Washington: 3,837 on only 190 catches.
To hear Rudolph and Washington tell it, they knew something like this might be possible from early days.
Washington recalls the first time he caught a Rudolph pass for a touchdown. It was their first game together, the 2014 trip to Baylor, and of course, it was a bomb. Sixty-eight yards. “This is kind of like high school,” Washington thought that day in Waco.
“Me and my high school quarterback used to connect like this. Just keep practicing and ... we can be pretty lethal.”
Rudolph realized what might develop with Washington a few months earlier. During camp, Rudolph kept throwing jump balls, and Washington kept catching them. Even
though they were true freshmen, Rudolph sensed a meshing of their skillsets.
“This is gonna be fun to play with him for four years,” the quarterback thought.
And it has been fun. For them. For fans.
For the entire college football world, really.
But now, of course, their college days are numbered. Still, no matter where they go, no matter what they do, they will always be linked together by what they’ve done at OSU.
“It’ll feel weird” not playing together, Washington said, “but all good things come to an end. It’ll be real good just to see him shine somewhere else and me get better and shine somewhere else, too.”
He paused and nodded a bit.
“We’ll still be brothers no matter what.”
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/ JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok or view her personality page at newsok.com/jennicarlson.