‘Good work’: Rudolph provides sparks as Steelers back-up QB
LATROBE 鈥� Mason Rudolph鈥檚 first pass of training camp was memorialized this way in the notebook:
鈥淕ary Yepremian-like pass by 2 with 41 (Farrington Huguenin) pursuing on a roll right.鈥�
Actually, there was no 鈥淵epremian-like鈥� about it. It was classic Yepremian.
Except for the interception and the touchdown, it was just like that all-time blooper of a pass that went backwards in Super Bowl VII.
Rudolph, though, picked himself up off the deck and on the next play threw a dart to a wide-open secondary receiver, Damoun Patterson, for a 30-yard gain.
Rudolph went through more ups and downs, but the last note in the notebook, on the cardboard page, was a description of his touchdown pass, with this quote from Mike Tomlin:
鈥淕ood work, two.鈥�
That hard-earned compliment came at the end of a flawless two-minute drive with the third team. Rudolph completed his first four passes, then scrambled for a first down on third-and-7, then found Jaylen Samuels running across the middle and hit him for a touchdown to end Saturday鈥檚 practice.
鈥淕ood work, two.鈥�
Rudolph hopes to hear those words again Thursday night in Philadelphia when the Steelers鈥� third-round pick makes his professional preseason debut against the Eagles.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun,鈥� Rudolph said of training camp. 鈥淛ust learning how everything operates up here in Latrobe, just kind of the flow of camp, the schedule, the off days, how to utilize your time and your free time. Anytime you do something for the first time, you kind of want to get there early and make sure you have the schedule down, you have the offense down. It鈥檚 definitely progressing the way I had hoped.鈥�
Rudolph took offense at the Yepremian gaffe being labeled as his very first pass because of his spring experience. But even that was a bumpy ride as the four-year starter at Oklahoma State was forced to take snaps under center instead of in shotgun formation. There were fumbled exchanges that frustrated Rudolph more so than his patient coaches.
鈥淲e鈥檝e cleaned it up for the most part here and I鈥檓 starting to feel comfortable after not doing that the last eight years of my life,鈥� Rudolph said. 鈥淛ust going to continue to move forward and try to do what I can each day, whether it鈥檚 footwork, or mentally, or protection, or taking some kind of step.鈥�
Rudolph fends off questions about big-picture outlooks by mentioning his methodical approach to his pro career. It鈥檚 clear he鈥檚 taken one day at a time, one period at a time, one snap at a time. In fact, he didn鈥檛 talk as much about playing in Thursday鈥檚 game as he did practicing the next two days.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to put the finishing touches on our plan,鈥� he said. And he meant it.
An in-the-moment approach has helped Rudolph keep his wits while dealing with a new level of ball, confusing coverages, confused progressions, and collapsing pockets.
But each day, with each new period, Rudolph has improved. His accuracy is better than the other two backups to Ben Roethlisberger, and his work in red-zone drills Friday night provided the few exciting offensive moments for a Steelers offense that practiced without Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le鈥橵eon Bell.
It was a glimpse of the future, and Rudolph provided legitimate sparks.
Does he believe he鈥檚 made big strides this camp?
鈥淚 just want to progress,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou guys can analyze how big the steps are. I鈥檓 just focused on completing passes, making sure I鈥檓 making mental steps forward every day, making sure I鈥檓 controlling the line of scrimmage with the offensive-line protections, making sure guys are in the right spots. We鈥檝e got a lot of new faces filtering through, in and out of camp, so I鈥檓 making sure new guys like Bucky Hodges have the information they need to be successful, get the guys ready to go, and go execute the play.鈥�
Rudolph gets it.
And on Thursday night, the Steelers will begin to judge whether they got it 鈥� a legitimate quarterback for the post-Roethlisberger era.
It means nothing now. It could mean everything one day.
NOTES 鈥� Tomlin only said of the quarterbacks that Roethlisberger won鈥檛 play Thursday night. 鈥� Brown, of course, won鈥檛 play but Tomlin said that his injury (quadriceps) is healing and he鈥檚 nearing a return to practice. 鈥� Tomlin also doesn鈥檛 expect TE Vance McDonald, and OLBs Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt to play. 鈥� Another OLB, Keion Adams, missed Tuesday鈥檚 practice. If he can鈥檛 play Thursday, that leaves the Steelers with only Anthony Chickillo, Huguenin and rookie Ola Adeniyi.