Blue White Illustrated

O n the football 4eld and in the class- room, Tyler Rudolph is far from a 4n- ished product. But, oh, has he come a long way. A native of Waterbury, Conn., Rudolph excelled in his 4nal two seasons at the prep level, holding opposing wide re- ceivers to a total of only 4ve completions. But his ascent to that point was jagged and gradual. He bounced around initially to a couple of di6erent schools before 4nding a home at St. Thomas More in Oakdale in 2017 and '18. Rudolph repeated his junior year there in order to improve his grades, and in doing so, he set himself up to grad- uate early as a senior. While he was at it, he earned four stars from Rivals.com and tallied 21 scholarship o6ers. He chose Penn State over Clemson. Although Rudolph played for a few dif- ferent high school teams before he en- rolled at PSU in January, he worked out during his o6-seasons almost exclusively with Supreme Athletes, a training service based out of Bloom4eld, Conn. It was his freshman year when he began under trainer Stack Williams, and Williams re- members Rudolph walking into the facil- ities as an entirely di6erent kind of player than he is now. "When Tyler joined us, he was totally new," Williams said. "He was totally new to the group, but Tyler could also ball. When he joined us, we knew he had the potential to be something special. He had that raw ability that just gave him a leg up on almost everyone that he played against." For Rudolph, it just took some time. He had to get comfortable. He already had the requisite size, natural athletic gi7s and a toolbox full of skills that made him a versatile option both for his high school and seven-on-seven teams. Just as im- portant, he also had the right mindset. "Tyler was always very con4dent and very aggressive," Williams said. "He lacked some of the polish, but he was al- ways able to get the job done because he had that size and ability to play at a big- time level." A7er working with Williams and the sta6 at Supreme Athletes, it became abundantly clear to college recruiters that Rudolph had the frame and skill set to play at a high level in college. What he did not have, at least at 4rst, were the necessary grades to get into some of the 4ner academic institutions that ulti- mately extended o6ers. So his report card became the top priority at St. Thomas More, and his focus on academics was fruitful. "O6 the 4eld, we're really proud of the person he's been on our campus and in our community," said Je6 Moore, who coached Rudolph in his two seasons at St. Thomas More. "He's well-liked by every- one and has improved academically ex- ponentially. He's really taken a lot of pride in the classroom. He's gone up a lot com- pared to before he got here." The steady improvement a6orded Rudolph the opportunity to join the Nit- tany Lions a semester early. During win- ter workouts, he hit the ground running, despite arriving on campus wearing a wrist brace. Measuring 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, Rudolph is expected to provide the de- fense with some positional 5exibility. A member of the Rivals250, he was rated the 20th-best cornerback in the Class of 2019, but could his career begin at a di6erent spot? The coaching sta6 signed 4ve cor- nerbacks this year, but only one pure safety: junior college prospect Jaquan Brisker. That likely means that one of the true freshmen will begin his career at the safety spot. Already on campus and par- ticipating in spring ball, Rudolph is a prime candidate to at least give it a try. "The coaches said I could play safety, cornerback, nickel or dime," Rudolph said. "I could do a lot to help them. The position doesn't matter to me." Those who have mentored Rudolph predict that he will rise to the occasion – just as he he did for them – no matter where he ends up on the 4eld. "[Penn State] has a plan for him," Moore said. "He's the kind of kid who will always work hard and is open to playing wher- ever they put him. I know he'll 4gure it out, too. He has great instincts, so it won't be hard for him to transition to whichever position they play him at. I'm not concerned with that whatsoever." Those instincts are what stood out to Williams when Rudolph first started training at his facility. Williams has Rudolph a versatile addition to Lions' secondary | THE RUDOLPH FILE STATS Averaged four tackles per game as a senior... Inter- cepted four passes, returning one for a touchdown, and re- covered two fumbles... Allowed a combined total of only five completions during his junior and senior seasons HONORS Named a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 20 cornerback nationally and No. 3 prospect in Connecticut... Named to USA Today's All-USA Connecti- cut team... Was a first-team All-NEPSAC and All- New England selection CLICK HERE to see video of Rudolph in action.

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