{"id":7082,"date":"2017-05-24T17:07:43","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T21:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=7082"},"modified":"2017-05-24T17:07:43","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T21:07:43","slug":"mason-rudolph-deserves-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2017\/05\/24\/mason-rudolph-deserves-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"Mason Rudolph Deserves Place in Elite 2018 Quarterback Draft Class"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a disappointing 2017 NFL draft class for quarterbacks, the 2018 class is receiving plenty of hype. Players like USC\u2019s Sam Darnold<\/a><\/strong>, UCLA\u2019s Josh Rosen<\/a><\/strong> and Wyoming\u2019s Josh Allen<\/a><\/strong> are headlining next year\u2019s class. One player receiving some hype, but not to the same degree as the others, is Oklahoma State\u2019s Mason Rudolph<\/a><\/strong>. However, Rudolph deserves plenty of attention as an NFL prospect as well.<\/p>\n

Mason Rudolph Deserves Place in Elite 2018 Quarterback Draft Class<\/h2>\n

Impressive statistics<\/h3>\n

Rudolph is unfairly penalized because of the conference he plays in. Any quarterback in the contemporary Big 12 will get flak for the conference\u2019s porous pass defenses. While his counting stats are impressive, however, Rudolph’s efficiency is extraordinary.<\/p>\n

Rudolph passed for 4,091 yards in 2016, but his efficiency is where he stands out above the crowd. His AY\/A for the season, which factors four stats into an adjusted measurement<\/a> for yards per attempt, was 10.0, the eighth-best mark in the nation<\/a> and second in the Big 12, behind Oklahoma\u2019s Baker Mayfield<\/a><\/strong>. This shows exceptional efficiency, illustrating a massive amount of yards gained and touchdowns passed for in relation to interceptions thrown.<\/p>\n

Along the same vein, Rudolph\u2019s miniscule interception rate stands out. He threw just four interceptions in 448 passing attempts last season. If he can repeat that ridiculous ratio, a 0.89 percent interception rate, in 2017, NFL scouts will be enamored with him.<\/p>\n

Beyond the box scores<\/h3>\n

Stats don\u2019t tell the entire story for Rudolph. He looks impressive when examining the numbers, but he has traits pro teams will want when searching for a franchise quarterback. First of all, his size is ideal<\/a> for the next level, standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 230 pounds. Secondly, Rudolph has been a winner in Stillwater. That\u2019s a common cop-out assessment of a player\u2019s value, but his ability is a major factor in Oklahoma State\u2019s 20 wins over the past two seasons. He has plenty of talent surrounding him, such as rising sophomore running back Justice Hill<\/a><\/strong> and rising senior wide receiver James Washington<\/a><\/strong>, but Rudolph is the undisputed leader of Oklahoma State\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n

Despite his great performances so far, he needs a strong 2017 to establish his value as a prospect. Coach Mike Gundy<\/a>\u2019s Cowboys should be the Oklahoma Sooners\u2019 biggest threat atop the Big 12 this season. There is a lot on the line for Rudolph\u2019s team, and subsequently for him, too. If he leads Oklahoma State to another 10-win season and replicates his 2016 stats, he will rocket up draft boards. If he regresses and\/or the Cowboys disappoint in the standings, he could certainly lose out on first-round money. However, there is no indication that Rudolph can\u2019t live up to or surpass expectations this season.<\/p>\n

Mason Rudolph is one of the best players returning<\/a> to the Big 12 this season. At the same time, Darnold, Rosen and Allen are all deserving of their draft hype as well. Rudolph, however, should be in that elite prospect group, too. Statistically, he stacks up well against the other three passers, finishing ahead of each of them in AY\/A last season. In passer efficiency rating, he finished ahead of Rosen and Allen, and behind Darnold by just 2.2 points. Rudolph has ideal size for the next level, and an impressive collegiate resume. He may not usurp anyone from the trio of Darnold, Rosen and Allen, but he deserves to be mentioned alongside them as the top quarterback prospects for next year\u2019s NFL draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a disappointing 2017 NFL draft class for quarterbacks, the 2018 class is receiving plenty of hype. Players like USC\u2019s Sam Darnold, UCLA\u2019s Josh Rosen and Wyoming\u2019s Josh Allen are headlining next year\u2019s class. One player receiving some hype, but not to the same degree as the others, is Oklahoma State\u2019s Mason Rudolph. However, Rudolph […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":2558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"561","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[497,18,410,1766,1663,644,406,1008,234,1342],"class_list":["post-7082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-big12","tag-baker-mayfield","tag-big-12","tag-james-washington","tag-josh-allen","tag-josh-rosen","tag-justice-hill","tag-mason-rudolph","tag-mike-gundy","tag-oklahoma-state-cowboys","tag-sam-darnold"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}