DeKALB – Since arriving at NIU as a walk-on freshman four falls ago, redshirt senior wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph has shown just how versatile he can be.
He can catch passes. He can return kicks. He can take handoffs. He can even throw behind his back.
That said, it should be no surprise that Rudolph has scored more touchdowns than any receiver on NIU’s roster (16). But his latest one carries a bit more meaning than the rest.
Late in the first quarter of Wednesday night’s win against the University of Akron, Rudolph connected with redshirt sophomore wide receiver Dane Pardridge for a 39-yard score to give the Huskies a 17-6 lead.
That was Rudolph’s first collegiate touchdown pass and the first time he hit a receiver for six since his days as the star quarterback at Crete-Monee High School in the south suburbs of Chicago.
When asked about the touchdown after the game, Rudolph‘s face lit up with a smile. Though he scored as a passer last season with a successful 2-point conversion, it doesn’t compare to a passing touchdown – the signature scoring method for a signal-caller.
“It felt amazing getting a passing touchdown instead of a 2-pointer, just ‘cause sometimes I miss my old QB days,” Rudolph said.
With the completion, Rudolph was also able to achieve redemption for his uncharacteristic misfire two months ago against the University of Notre Dame.
Same play, better result
If it isn’t understood already, NIU’s storied upset of then-No. 5 Notre Dame wasn’t decided by any one play. It was players consistently making big plays in big moments.
Senior running back Antario Brown scored the game’s first touchdown on an 83-yard catch-and-run.
Senior kicker Kanon Woodill connected on a 35-yard field goal to give NIU the lead with 31 seconds left in regulation.
And of course, senior defensive tackle Cade Haberman sealed the victory with a field goal block on the game’s final play.
But the play that stuck with Rudolph was a first-quarter incompletion with the game tied at 7. On second-and-8 from the Notre Dame 25-yard line, Rudolph took a handoff from redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Hampton on a jet sweep, leaked right and lobbed a deep pass to a wide-open Pardridge.
With no incoming pressure and no defender near the receiver, it’s a routine pass that ends in a surefire touchdown. Instead, Rudolph’s throw missed its mark, landing out of bounds and short of the end zone. It was the first incompletion of his career.
Rudolph still doesn’t know how it happened, but he remembers head coach Thomas Hammock reminding him, “you used to be a quarterback!”
So when NIU dialed up that playcall again Wednesday, Rudolph wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
“I knew I had to make up for the Notre Dame one. I was telling Hammock, ‘don’t give up on me on that one,’” Rudolph said. “But it felt amazing. Dane, I told him I got him. It was Dane against Notre Dame too, so I knew I had to make up for it.”
Sure enough, Rudolph’s pass was on-target this time around. Pardridge corralled the catch inside the 15 and took care of rest to put NIU at a two-score advantage.
With the touchdown, Rudolph became the second Huskie to score through passing, rushing, receiving and a kickoff return, joining former do-it-all receiver Tommylee Lewis (2011-15).
Now, with only three games left in his college career, Rudolph is committed to doing whatever the team asks of him.
“I’m here to help however I can,” Rudolph said. “If I’ve got to throw, block, run, I’m just here to do my part and help us get wins. Them trusting me so much and me having a bigger role for the team, I love it, ‘cause I just love helping us win.”
Maybe he’ll even try to throw a touchdown pass behind his back.
