An amazing article done on our alumni Tyler Rudolph. Check it out below:
On the football field and in the classroom, Tyler Rudolph is far from a finished product. But, oh, has he come a long way.
A native of Waterbury, Conn., Rudolph excelled in his final two seasons at the prep level, holding opposing wide receivers to a total of only five completions. But his ascent to that point was jagged and gradual. He bounced around initially to a couple of different schools before finding 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 graduate early as a senior. While he was at it, he earned four stars from Rivals.com and tallied 21 scholarship offers. He chose Penn State over Clemson.
Although Rudolph played for a few different high school teams before he enrolled at PSU in January, he worked out during his off-seasons almost exclusively with Supreme Athletes, a training service based out of Bloomfield, Conn. It was his freshman year when he began under trainer Stack Williams, and Williams remembers Rudolph walking into the facility an entirely different person 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 gifts and a toolbox full of skills that made him a versatile option both for his high school and seven-on-seven teams. Just as important, he also had the right mindset.
“Tyler was always very confident and very aggressive,” Williams said. “He lacked some of the polish, but he was always able to get the job done because he had that size and ability to play at a big-time level.”
After working with Williams and the staff 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 first, were the necessary grades to get into some of the finer academic institutions that ultimately extended offers. So his report card became the top priority at St. Thomas More, and his focus on academics was fruitful.
Read more here –> https://bwi.rivals.com/news/penn-state-recruiting-tyler-rudolph-will-bring-versatility-to-psu-defense
