Mike Gundy Would Be ‘Shocked’ If Mason Rudolph and James Washington Aren’t Play-Makers in Pittsburgh

With all the buzz that has been surrounding Mason Rudolph and James Washington’s impending takeover of the Steel City (at least among Oklahoma State’s fanbase), Steelers.com contacted the dynamic deep-ball duo’s former head coach.

Mike Gundy shared his thoughts on the Pittsburgh fit for both, some insight on Rudolph’s transition to a pro-style offense and told the folks in Steel City what they can expect from James Washington both on and off the field.

Here are some of the high notes. You can check out the full interview below.

Gundy says the style of football is a perfect fit for Rudolph and Washington, “… I know they have a lot of character in their organization [in Pittsburgh] and that’s what they’ve been used to over the last four years at Oklahoma State.”

A peak into James Washington off of the field.

“He’s a big farmer,” said Gundy. “He likes to be out in the country, and he won’t talk a lot. If you guys get him to talk a lot it will be a heck of an accomplishment.”

” won’t talk a lot” ≈ “never says a word” Dobbing G1 on my Gundy Bingo card.

“He’s not caught up in how fast the world moves,” Gundy continued on Washington. “He’s not big into all the social media and such. He just wants to do his job. He’s very respectful. He’s got tremendous character. He understands the quality of life that it takes to be a really good player, and that’s what he’s done up to this point.”

Gundy was asked what makes a good deep-threat receiver and he explained the attributes that Washington boasts that makes him one.

“He’s very intelligent,” Gundy said. “He’s a good route runner. The speed and his ability to catch the deep ball is very unique and special… Let’s say a receiver is a 4.5 guy in the 40. James faster than 4.5 and when the ball’s in the air he has an uncanny ability to accelerate and run through the football and catch it where most receivers decelerate to try and catch the ball. James has the ability to speed up and run underneath a deep throw. ”

Gundy was asked what drew them to Rudolph as a QB prospect and how his recruitment went.

“Really quality young man,” said Gundy. “He was tough. Threw the ball well. He was in a no-huddle shotgun offense like we had here at Oklahoma State. Now, he’s from South Carolina which is a long ways away but the two in-state schools there already had quarterbacks so he was attracted to Oklahoma State. We brought him out. We really liked the way that he talked about himself and his future and his contribution to his high school team. So when we got him here, it all came true.

“He’s a tremendous young man. He’s a very hard worker, he’s a student of the game and he enjoys playing. He’s very tough.”

On what both Rudolph and Washington bring to the Steelers organization.

“Well, they’re both very hard workers,” said Gundy. “They take pride in their job, and the amount of time that they spend together here paid off for them and I see the same thing in the future in Pittsburgh. I know that Mason’s excited about learning from Ben and trying to obtain all of the knowledge that he can and the wisdom that he’s gotten over a long period of time in Pittsburgh. I’m sure James will be out there a lot quicker but they’ll work together and I would be shocked if we don’t see those two hooking up for years to come.”

Gundy recently had a phone conversation with Rudolph, while Washington texted about coyote hunting, which makes sense because he apparently doesn’t speak.

“They’re excited,” said Gundy. “I talked to them maybe a week or so ago. They were in the hotel room. Mason and I were talking about some other stuff and I asked what James was doing. He was laying on the bed in the hotel room [that] I guess they’re sharing. He was texting somebody back home about coyote hunting which is typical for them.

“And it happened to be a Friday night where most 22-, 23-year old young men would be getting ready to go out on the town and such. Mason was working on some kind of football and James was talking to somebody about coyote hunting. That’s just the kind of young men that they are the Steelers will be thrilled with them.”

“Mason is very outgoing. He’s going to be tremendous in the public. James will be when he gets out there but they’ll both be involved in society there, in the community and helping with young people, and they’re going to be really good players. They’re going to be thankful for the organization and over a period of time the organization is going to be very thankful for those players.”

.@CowboyFB Coach Mike Gundy discusses the tremendous fit for his former players in Pittsburgh, @JamesWashington's quiet personality, breaking down a 'deep threat', @Rudolph2Mason as a student of the game and more. pic.twitter.com/Tk8pVULDCT

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 7, 2018