Aug 23, 2013
Fall Practice No. 25 | Interview with J. Rudock
- 2013 Fall Camp Central
- Read the September issue of Hawk Talk Monthly
- 2013 Signing Day Central
- Hawkeyes in the NFL
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone/iPad app!
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye Android app!
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Jake Rudock is going from the most popular guy on campus to being the most scrutinized.
Thus is the life of a quarterback moving from backup to starter.
“I said last year I thought it was so strange how the backup is always the most famous guy,” Rudock said Friday in an exclusive interview with hawkeyesports.com. “It doesn’t make sense, but hey, everyone wants to see someone else step up, that’s how it is.”
Rudock, on Friday, was named the starting signal-caller for the University of Iowa, emerging in a highly-contest and closely-watched three-person race that also included junior Cody Sokol and redshirt freshman C.J. Beathard.
“It made you have to work harder to keep going and understanding you have guys on your heals,” said Rudock, a sophomore. “You can’t take anything lightly and each play matters.”
James Vandenberg took every snap for the Hawkeyes during the 2012 season, completing 57 percent of his passes for 2,249 yards and seven touchdowns.
Rudock’s high school resume is long and impressive. A native of Weston, Fla., Rudock led St. Thomas Aquinas to a 15-0 record and district, regional, and national championships in 2010. He holds school single-game records for passing yards (333) and touchdowns (five) and single-season records for passing yards (2,827) and touchdowns (36).
Rudock was second on the depth chart last season, studying behind Vandenberg. Now it’s is his turn to lead the Hawkeyes.
“I was very happy (when I heard the news),” Rudock said. “That’s what you want to hear. You want to be the guy and you want to be able to go out there and play football. You’re excited as you can be, but at the same time there is a long road ahead and you have to keep working, take it game-by-game, and keep going.”
Iowa opens the season at home Aug. 31 against Northern Illinois. It is the annual “Be Bold, Wear Gold” game. Single-game tickets for all seven Hawkeye home contests inside Kinnick Stadium are available on hawkeyesports.com.