How Much Will We See Mason Rudolph Run This Fall?

Last season Mason Rudolph ran the football 83 times for 61 yards and six TDs. Of course he was also sacked 32 times for 201 yards so his real rushing numbers look more like 51 rushes for 262 yards and six TDs which is quite tidy for as big of a guy as No. 2 is.

And that might have just been the beginning.

Mike Gundy has been insistent on installing a J.W. Walsh-like package for one of his quarterbacks, and we have presumed that would be Keondre Wudtee or maybe even John Kolar or Taylor Cornelius. And maybe it still will be, but three different coaches commented on Rudolph’s ability to run the football at the end of spring ball.

“He has continued to get a little more mobile every year,” said head coach Mike Gundy. “He’s lean. He was thin last year for what he had been in his career and he looks even better now. He has a better grasp at what we do. A couple of times this year, it would get him in a jam because he tried to do too much. Overall, just his grasp of our offense continues to get better each year.”

Here was my view for (@Rudolph2Mason) Mason Rudolph’s 12 yard rushing TD & his thoughts on the run. #OKState pic.twitter.com/wWq6UkPLOF

— Nate Feken (@TheGreat_Nate) November 19, 2016

So that doesn’t really portend a future in which No. 2 is definitely running with the ball, but my guess is that Gundy and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich are going to be OK with it to a point.

“Mason (Rudolph) has been really consistent,” said Yurcich. “He’s done a really good job at leading and helping the other guys develop. Very consistent in securing the ball. At times when things have broken down, he’s made some plays with his legs, which is good to see.”

He’s even run over some of defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer’s players.

“He thinks he’s a big tough guy,” said Spencer. “He dropped his weight and he’s moving better now, so he’ll pull the ball down and lower his head on guys. I’ve got to tell him to go easy sometimes. He’s really had an evolution in his confidence and his leadership. There’s not much that we can give him as a defense that he hasn’t seen.

“He knows where to go with the ball so we just try to stay a step ahead of him and try to show him some things that he hasn’t seen before. He’s gotten really good at being able to figure things out after the snap, as opposed to pre-snap. That’s scary. When you get a quarterback that can see things after the snap, you can’t disguise after the snap and that makes him pretty effective.”

In 2015 we saw Rudolph rush 35 times which was about 3.5 percent of all of Oklahoma State’s offensive plays. In 2016 that number got bumped to 5.3 percent with Walsh out of the picture. Could we see it go up from there to 6 or even 7 percent? I think we could, and I think it could be an invaluable weapon for OSU’s already-scary offense this fall.

The last thing Big 12 defensive coordinators want to see is a smart QB with experience who is able to read defenses post-snap with innumerable weapons on the exterior file away the ability to tuck it and run at will into his arsenal. Imagine Brandon Weeden with some wheels. That’s terrifying. That’s potentially unstoppable. That’s a really fun thought as we hurtle towards the regular season opener at the end of August.