Rudolph and Co. ‘pass the torch’
With the victory formation at the ready, James Washington locked eyes with Dillon Stoner, twirled his index finger and nodded his head. A secret signal? Sure seemed that way. After the final snap of Oklahoma State’s 30-21 victory over Virginia Tech in the Camping World Bowl, Stoner executed a celebratory back flip. He looked toward the Cowboy sideline where Washington stood with a huge grin on his face. Message received. Torch passed, too. On a night with plenty of moments of glory for the Cowboy stars who have been mainstays, there were also hints of what’s to come. The Cowboys couldn’t have won without the greatness of Washington and Mason Rudolph and Marcell Ateman, but they also wouldn’t have beaten the Hokies without clutch plays from Stoner and Justice Hill.
“Very proud of the seniors that are moving on,” Cowboy coach Mike Gundy said as he stood on a temporary stage with several of those seniors during the postgame trophy presentation.
But then he pivoted toward the younger players standing on the turf in front of him.
“Now we’ve got to pass the torch.”
Stoner and Hill are poised to pick it up. Thursday night in Orlando was evidence of that.
When the Cowboy offense sputtered early and struggled to get the ball to Washington and Ateman— remember, the Hokie defense is stout— Hill put his head down and went to work. He had 10 carries for 65 yards in the first half. Going for 6.5 yards a touch is impressive when little else is effective.
Hill also scored OSU’s only touchdown of the first half. It came right before halftime and was a demoralizing score for Virginia Tech, which controlled the half but trailed at the break.
Then coming out of the locker room, Stoner made the highlight reel.
Even though he had three catches in the first half, his biggest was his only one in the second half. Rudolph eluded a sure sack, rolled to his right and looked toward the end zone. Stoner had a defender on his hipbut slid down and made the catch.
It was as athletic as it was heady. That drive seemed to put some cracks in Virginia Tech’s defense. The next possession, OSU went back to a familiar refrain. Rudolph to Washington. Deep ball. Touchdown.
The quarterback’s bomb of a pass was spot on, and the receiver high stepped through a tackler’s grasp. It was a 65-yard beauty on a post pattern reminiscent of so many other touchdowns over the years.
“It was kind of the cherry on top,” Rudolph said.
It was also the play that made Washington the most prolific receiver in school history. He now stands as OSU’s all-time leading receiver with 4,472 receiving yards in his career, breaking the previous high of 4,414 yards by Rashaun Woods.
Washington finished the day with five catches for 126 yards.
Ateman also went over the 100yard mark with five catches for 107 yards, and just as he’s done all season, he made timely snags. A third-down catch in the first quarter. A 50-yard catch right before half that set up Hill’s touchdown.
“When you have a special group like we do,” Gundy said, “you want Ateman and Washington to get their catches from Rudolph because that’s what they’ve done all year.”
But it seemed fitting that when the Cowboys needed to burn clock and finish the game, they turned to The Next. Stoner was one of only two receivers targeted on OSU’s final scoring drive, though Rudolph’s pass sailed too high, and Hill had seven of the nine touches on the drive for 37 yards.
“Sky’s the limit for him,” Rudolph said of Hill. “He’ll be the guy coming back to build the team around.”
And Stoner will be the leader of the pack of the next bunch of receivers. He’s been hanging out with Washington this season. They have similar approaches to the game, and it has cultivated a friendship.
Handshakes and secret signals, too.
“We do weird stuff,” Washington admitted with a chuckle. But the back flips are all Stoner. “That’s pretty talented in full pads,” Washington said, “so shoutout to him.”
That’s what Thursday night was— a shoutout. First to those Cowboys riding off into the sunset, then to those soon to lead the posse.