James Washington and Mason Rudolph have spent four years playing marvellously as defences across the Big 12, setting records and winning many games for Oklahoma State. Now, the rugged wide receiver and quarterback are heading to Pittsburgh where they will listen and learn and will wait. There is no other choice left when the depth chart includes players such as Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger.
That is fine for both Washington, selected in the second round and Rudolph, selected with the first of Pittsburgh’s two third-round picks. Rudolph said, “To go on to the next chapter with one of your brothers and the best receiver you’ve spent your whole college days with and maybe spend 15 years with, it’s awesome.”
As a starter, Rudolph went 32-9 with Oklahoma State, the most wins ever made by a quarterback there. With 4,474 yards receiving, Washington set a school record, including 125 in Oklahoma State’s blowout win against Pittsburgh at Heinz field last year in September.
Both the players spent the Cowboys’ Walkthrough the night before the game, looking around the stands. Randy Fichtner, the offensive coordinator, downplayed the idea that Rudolph will serve as Roethlisberger’s eventual heir. Rudolph is the first quarterback to have been taken by the Steelers before the fourth round since they drafted Roethlisberger 11th overall in the year 2004.
Fichtner hopes that Roethlisberger gets to play for another handful of seasons. Roethlisberger told the teammates after the Steelers lost to Jacksonville in the divisional round of the playoffs that he expects to play for at least three more years.
Fichtner said, “I always keep my fingers crossed that he’s healthy and he wants to play. It’d be great for us. It’d be great for me, because he’s a guy that’s going to be awful hard to replace and if it takes three guys in competition to replace him someday, so be it.”
