Kornacki: Rudock Providing Lions Plenty to Smile About
8/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 24, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Jake Rudock has a way of putting warm smiles on the faces of his coaches.
"Jake has been working diligently ever since he's been here," said Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell, a smile quickly creasing his face. "We had a chance to evaluate him through the draft process, and so we had a pretty thorough evaluation of him. And he's exactly what we thought he would be.
"The guy's very smart, very determined, doesn't get rattled, has composure, and he keeps getting better. That's certainly a very, very important part of what he's doing. At the end of every day, he gets a little bit better, he's a little more comfortable with some things. So, I think he's come along."
Last year, it was University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and passing game coordinator Jedd Fisch who took a quick shine to Rudock. He quickly digested their offense and won the trust of teammates, leading the Wolverines to 10 wins while being named MVP of the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.
"We'd all be kidding ourselves if we didn't say that Jake was a Godsend for us last year," Fisch said. "He came in and was somebody people were unsure of. But he was able to transfer from inside the conference (from Iowa), and he was a pro.
"After the Utah game, I didn't necessarily think he'd be drafted, right? But the way he handled it, came back from adversity, and the way he (displayed) his incredible professional (approach) and intelligence really skyrocketed us all offensively because he didn't make any mistakes."
NFL teams took notice, and none more than the one just a short drive away.
Detroit general manager Bob Quinn started in the New England Patriots organization in 2000, the year that team drafted Wolverines quarterback Tom Brady in the sixth round and 199th overall. Quinn left the Patriots to run the Lions after the 2015 season and selected Rudock in the sixth round, 191st overall.
Following the selection, Mike O'Hara of DetroitLions.com asked Quinn if he was following a Patriots blueprint in the selection of another slightly off-the-radar Michigan quarterback in the same round. Or was it merely a coincidence?
"It was like in my first four months," Quinn said of that draft 16 years ago. "I knew where the coffee machine was. I know there's a parallel there, but I mean, this isn't the same conversation."
Comparing anyone to Brady -- who has won four Super Bowls and thrown for more yards than all but four players in NFL history -- based on coincidences is a stretch. But one thing about Rudock is sure. He's turning heads in practices and exhibition games as a rookie and is battling 11-year veteran Dan Orlovsky to back up Matthew Stafford while fighting for a roster spot.
Rudock has completed 16-of-22 passes (.727) with one touchdown and one interception for an 89.6 quarterback rating while rushing six times for 31 yards without being sacked.
"I think I've done some good things," Rudock said Tuesday (Aug. 23) before practice. "But, obviously, there are some steps to climb up, too. That's part of the learning. It's learning new verbiage, which is difficult. Seeing things for a second and third time is a huge factor, though."
His locker is to the immediate right of Stafford's at the team's suburban Detroit practice facility, and Orlovsky is next to Stafford. They've become a tight group in a short time, and Orlovsky has taken to calling Rudock "Jake from State Farm," a play off the popular insurance company commercial.
"Their mentoring has been huge for me," said Rudock. "I ask them questions that come from a player's perspective as opposed to a coach's. Having two guys, and not just one, can really help you a lot. They've been very helpful to me. I ask a question, and they have the answer."
Stafford has become Detroit's career leader in passing yardage (25,976) and touchdown passes (163) in seven seasons but is also having to digest the addition of the no-huddle offense as a prominent component of the 2016 offense.
"Jake's done a good job, and this hasn't been an easy system to learn," said Stafford. "There's a whole lot to it, and he's done a nice job; he's really smart and has had a great camp throwing the ball and getting us in the right place."
How has Rudock approached learning a complicated and varied offense?
"It's a lot," he said. "You just try to learn a little bit every day and use the older guys as best as I can. There's so much to learn, and it just stacks upon one another, and it's an NFL offense. There's so much information and so much stuff you need to know. So, you just have to do the best you can on remembering and understanding it."
Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, who brought the no-huddle emphasis in his first full season in that role, and quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan have been invaluable to Rudock.
"(Callahan) has worked with me on a few things that might give you more pop on the ball," said Rudock. "Whether it's game-planning, how to go about your business or 'what we're looking for,' progressions, it's a little bit of everything that they are helping me with."
Rudock has gone from the maize and blue to the Honolulu blue and silver, and much has changed. Graham Glasgow, the Michigan center Detroit drafted in the third round, has been the one constant.
"It's nice to have another friendly face in the locker room," said Rudock. "It makes it a little easier some time when you're trying to learn everyone's name. It was like, 'I know that guy's name.'"
Glasgow has been running with the second-team offense and is expected to challenge for the starting role in the near future.
Rudock has put his aspirations in pediatric medicine on hold, while he puts 100-percent effort into trying to make the Lions.
Even Fisch doubted he had a pro future going into last season. However, Rudock ended up throwing for 3,017 yards and 20 touchdowns to become a pro prospect. NFL.com quoted an anonymous NFC East team scout: "Looked like a different player from the beginning of the season to the end. You have to consider that Harbaugh was able to get more out of him and that an NFL coach might be able to do the same thing."
Rudock, graduate transfer from Iowa for 2015, said of last season: "I learned more about football, situational football, when to take a shot, a lot of stuff like that. There's so much stuff I've learned from (Harbaugh) and Coach Fisch."
He has two exhibition games remaining -- Saturday night (Aug. 27) at Baltimore and Sept. 1 versus Buffalo -- to state his case for making the Lions.
"I just want to play solid -- get a first down and try to make another one," said Rudock. "I'm just trying to focus on each day, try to make the team, and go from there. You can't look too far ahead...I'm just worried about the practice we have in a couple hours."
WOLVERINE REUNION: Rudock and Glasgow will be joined in the 7 p.m. Saturday game at Baltimore by a pair of 2015 Michigan teammates now with the Ravens in defensive tackle Willie Henry and linebacker Mario Ojemudia and linebacker Brennen Beyer, a Wolverine in his second season with Baltimore. The Ravens are coached by John Harbaugh, the older brother of Jim.
