Clintonville Spotlight

Rudzinski will take his football talents to OSU



Bishop Watterson High School senior Ryan Rudzinski ended the recruiting process March 8 by accepting an offer from Ohio State University to be a preferred walk-on player.

The decision comes after the multisport athlete played defense regularly for the first time this past year and set a school record with 10 interceptions from his safety position.

“It was a really easy decision,” said the son of former Ohio State captain Jerry Rudzinski. “They had the upper hand on my recruitment with me being a hometown kid, but they recruited me the right way and took some time to make sure I got to some games and a practice or two.

“I was just holding out to see if there was a sweet scholarship or something (from another school). Obviously, when that’s involved you have to look at it, but I’m glad I ended up at Ohio State.”

Rudzinski plays prep basketball and baseball in addition to football, where he started at quarterback as a junior before playing quarterback, wide receiver, safety and punter during his senior campaign.

Count Eagles coach Brian Kennedy as one who is shocked the 6’4” Rudzinski didn’t attract more interest from Division I schools.

“This kid worked extremely hard and we’re seeing him just explode in terms of his athletic ability,” the coach said. “He’s a leader and had a huge impact on our success.”

Watterson advanced to the Division III regional championship game in 2022.

Recruiting classes straight out of high school have shrunk during recent years.

The transfer portal allows already established college players to move to new schools without having to sit out a year. The rule that allowed for players not to have a year counted against them during the COVID-19 season of 2020 also has caused ripple effects down to the prep level.

“The whole recruiting process is extremely flawed,” Kennedy said. “The transfer portal has caused schools to go from holding a couple recruiting spots for transfers to eight to 10 scholarships. That takes opportunities from high school kids.”

Also, Rudzinski took a while to grow.

“I’m 6-4, 195 pounds and people say I’m a little skinny, but when I was a freshman I was 5-9, 120,” he said. “Even my junior year, I was probably 150 pounds, so I would go to camps, and I really just didn’t have the size that I needed.

“Plus, I was playing quarterback and it’s a really hard position to get recruited. Schools are only taking one quarterback per class, sometimes two. There were kids better than me at quarterback.”

Rudzinski will enter Ohio State safeties coach Perry Eliano’s room as someone to watch for during the coming years. But his frame suggests he could add weight without losing speed or quickness, which could mean he could play multiple positions at the collegiate level.

“I’m trying to be completely unbiased,” Kennedy said. “My opinion is he’s just beginning. I don’t know what Ryan’s ceiling is but he’s not there, yet. We saw the development this year. He has the frame that he could play tight end at that level after putting on 30-35 pounds.

“I know he can block and the Big Ten is a different level. Just watching him at the high-school level when he was playing receiver, he was by far our best blocking receiver.”

For now, Rudzinski will be working at the nickel safety position, meaning he could be covering tight ends or slot receivers on the defensive side while also being counted on to stop the run.

He also knows scout team is a place to make a name for himself.

“You don’t just go in and plug in Day 1,” he said. “I knew that in high school as a freshman. You develop and then all of a sudden you’re a junior and it’s your time. I’m hoping to get on the travel squad and eventually play. It’s a process and I’ll keep climbing my way up.”

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