Elite QB prospect preparing for draft: 'Christ is at the center'
Much of the talk about the 2018 NFL draft has centered around the deep quarterback class.
Four signal callers are considered locks to go in the first round — USC’s Sam Darnold, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, Wyoming’s Josh Allen and UCLA’s Josh Rosen — and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson is widely expected to join them.
Former Oklahoma State star Mason Rudolph is seen as the sixth-best prospect and projected as a second-day pick — but don’t tell him that.
“I look at myself as a first-round quarterback,” he told ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. “I can come in and start for any organization [from] Day 1, and have success and win games. It’s not in my control, obviously. I can only prepare myself to the best of my ability and make sure that I’m hitting the ground running.”
Scouts love Rudolph’s size (he’s 6 feet 5 and 235 pounds), toughness and productivity (he passed for 13,618 yards and 92 touchdowns with the Cowboys), but some say he’s merely a product of OSU coach Mike Gundy’s system.
Rudolph says he will work hard to silence those critics.
“I think you’re wrong if you don’t take me in the first round,” the 22-year-old from Rock Hill, South Carolina, told ESPN. “It’s not going to make me depressed if I go in the second. I’m going to be that much more motivated and charged up to go win a job and compete, or learn the system and take full responsibility and take my chance whenever I get it.”
His enthusiasm to excel on the football field is matched only by his desire to be an ambassador for his Christian faith.
“I passionately pursue Christ because I want to be a witness for Him and use this platform to impact our community,” Rudolph told the Fellowship of Christian Athletes magazine in an interview last August.
He said athletes can have a powerful influence on people’s lives, pointing to a former Heisman Trophy winner as a prime example.
“It’s big because people look up to athletes,” Rudolph told FCA magazine. “Those guys in leadership roles can show there’s more to life than just football; they can be a witness for Christ.
“That was big with me with Tim Tebow. I thought Tim Tebow hung the moon when I was in high school and middle school. The way he used his platform to reach kids and reach people all across the world with his ministry, the way he carried himself — that made an impact on me. I always told myself, that’s what I want to be.”
He demonstrated that last month when he appeared at an FCA banquet in Stillwater, helping to present awards to high school and junior high students and answering their questions.
As Rudolph gets ready for the spectacle of the NFL draft and the answer to his questions about what’s next, he’ll continue to stay grounded in his Christian faith.
“Christ is at the center of it,” he told FCA magazine. “It’s Christ who will always be there for you; He’s your foundation. So just getting in the Word and leaning on a few of my life verses throughout the week, as well as constant communication with my parents and grandparents — that’s my secret to success.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
