The Wolverine

  MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Lomax said. "He does a very good job looking safeties off. He doesn't take a lot of chances, and he plays safe. He's a good quarterback. "He definitely brings leadership capabilities. He was a leader here for us, not scared to get up and talk in front of a group of guys, not scared to tell somebody if you're doing the wrong thing to cut it out." He's a competitor who can "move a little bit, too," Lomax said. Defensive end Drew Ott knows that all too well, having chased Ru- dock from the pocket in practice. "He's elusive, always trying to run around," he said. "He can get away from the defense, and he has a better arm than people think. He threw a lot of touchdowns for us. That never seemed to hold him back. He's very smart with the game, runs the gameplan to a 'T.' "He's a smart football player who is going to run the system the way the coach wants it to be run. He's going to make the right plays and make good decisions there." All of them wanted Rudock to stay at Iowa, but they all wished him well. He and junior Shane Mor- ris are competing for the starting job at U-M, with sources saying they were neck and neck early in fall camp. Former Iowa quarterback Chuck Long, now an analyst with the Big Ten Network, said it remains to be seen how Rudock will fit in head coach Jim Harbaugh's pro-style of- fense. "His arm strength is not one to get the ball down the field as much as you want, but Jim is a quarter- back and knows how to adjust sys- tems," Long said. "You have to be ready to adjust, and Jim is in charge. He'll be able to tell his offensive coordinator, 'We have to adjust to his strengths.' But his strength has not been getting the ball down the field. His strength has been more of a dink and dunk type philosophy. "He's a game manager, very smart, and he'll make good deci- sions for you. He won't turn the ball over. Those are great strengths for any quarterback. He needs a run game around him. His weakness is Former Iowa teammates wished fifth-year senior quarterback Jake Rudock well at Michigan and were complimentary of his skills under center. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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