Florida State LG Rodney Hudson

I know everyone was talking about Mike Iupati last season as a possibility for the Texans but what about a guy like Senior LG Rodney Hudson. This guy is a three year starter, a three year All-ACC selection, and probably the top guard in the NCAA. He has been playing in a zone blocking scheme under a great position coach in Rick Trickett and coordinator in Jimbo Fisher at FSU.

If you haven't heard about Hudson, watch him next year when you see Florida State play. He is #62. He'll get mentioned by the commentators at one point in most of the prime time games the Noles play this year, which is alot. We play Oklahoma, BYU, Miami, and Florida this year. He is a perfect fit for our team especially if Caldwell can lock the RG position down.

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up before the season starts so yall can form your own opinions.

Like him alot.

I'm afraid that he wil be a guy that was a great college player who maxed out and will only be an average to slightly above average pro.

I agree with steelb here. He is a great college player, but I worry about his upside. He is a great fit for the Texans scheme though (right size, agility), so I would pick him up in the second if he is there. I think he could be an above average to good player. A solid starter that wont blow anyone away.

I thought that he might turn pro last year but he decided to stay in school. I think it was a good decision because he's a little light weight to be playing in the NFL, the extra year should allow him to put on some weight. I think he'll be a good pro and we'd probably be lucky to get him in the 2nd round since he'd fit our system perfectly.

If he is the guy I am thinking about, I watched him in a game last season and he was all over the place trying to hit someone. Not a "block til the whistle blows" but goes all out. I don't know enough about him to evaluate but will try to watch him. If you guys can drop a "heads up" before he plays a strong opponent, I'd like to watch.

badboy said:

If he is the guy I am thinking about, I watched him in a game last season and he was all over the place trying to hit someone. Not a "block til the whistle blows" but goes all out. I don't know enough about him to evaluate but will try to watch him. If you guys can drop a "heads up" before he plays a strong opponent, I'd like to watch.

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Week 2: September 11, 2010 against Oklahoma in Norman.

I'll give yall the heads up before big games, trust me.

On a side note here are some Ponder highlights that will show some of Hudson. That's a bad ass Ponder highlight video btw. Additionally here is a Hudson video from the UNC game. Remember he is #62, the LG. UNC had a dominate defensive football team last year, especially when it comes to their Dline.

TexansSeminole said:

Week 2: September 11, 2010 against Oklahoma in Norman.

I'll give yall the heads up before big games, trust me.

On a side note here are some Ponder highlights that will show some of Hudson. Additionally here is a Hudson video from the UNC game. Remember he is #62, the LG. UNC had a dominate defensive football team last year, especially when it comes to their Dline.

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He looks really good on some plays, really bad on others. If he can get a bit more consistent, he will be a heck of a player.

Wolf6151 said:

I thought that he might turn pro last year but he decided to stay in school. I think it was a good decision because he's a little light weight to be playing in the NFL, the extra year should allow him to put on some weight. I think he'll be a good pro and we'd probably be lucky to get him in the 2nd round since he'd fit our system perfectly.

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Yea, he is listed at 282, but alot of guys have gained weight this year. I'd probably put him in the 290's if I had to guess. I'll hear Jimbo Fisher say something about it in an interview sometime during the preseason I would assume, he's been rattling off players weights with no notes in post practice interviews since the first day of practice. I know he's put an emphasis on getting bigger all around.

I think the concerns about him maxing out could hurt him a little bit when it comes to the draft. He was good from day one but really hasn't grown into a physically imposing player since his first year. I think maybe people think he is physically maxed out.

TexansSeminole said:

Yea, he is listed at 282, but alot of guys have gained weight this year. I'd probably put him in the 290's if I had to guess. I'll hear Jimbo Fisher say something about it in an interview sometime during the preseason I would assume, he's been rattling off players weights with no notes in post practice interviews since the first day of practice. I know he's put an emphasis on getting bigger all around.

I think the concerns about him maxing out could hurt him a little bit when it comes to the draft. He was good from day one but really hasn't grown into a physically imposing player since his first year. I think maybe people think he is physically maxed out.

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On a side note, how do you think E.Brown will do replacing Peppers?

steelbtexan said:

On a side note, how do you think E.Brown will do replacing Peppers?

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I know he struggled a little bit last year but didn't have a terrible year. His biggest problem was overall strength for an every down end. Hopefully this extra year in an NFL S&C program has bulked him up. I always thought he had potential to be a great pass rusher in the NFL. I think he'll perform pretty well once he gets a hang of it. The question is how long into the season will he start getting it.

TexansSeminole said:

I know he struggled a little bit last year but didn't have a terrible year. His biggest problem was overall strength for an every down end. Hopefully this extra year in an NFL S&C program has bulked him up. I always thought he had potential to be a great pass rusher in the NFL. I think he'll perform pretty well once he gets a hang of it. The question is how long into the season will he start getting it.

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Thanks,

I think the trio of Brown,Johnson and Brayton will do an adeqate job replacing Peppers.

What are the Fla. colleges rated talent wise compared to previous years?

Who are some of the guys to keep an eye on?

Here's what Walterfootball has to say about Hudson. He's their #1 ranked OG for the 2011 draft.

Rodney Hudson, G, Florida State
Height: 6-2. Weight: 292.
Projected 40 Time: 5.21.
Projected Round (2011): 2-3.
4/4/10: An AP Second-Team All-American despite never being 100 percent all year.

2/10/09: Continued to thrive as Florida State's top lineman. Rodney Hudson easily was voted to the All-ACC First Team.

7/28/08: Regarded by many as Florida State's best offensive lineman in 2007 - when he was a mere true freshman. Rodney Hudson was naturally named to the Freshmen All-America first team and the All-ACC third team.

steelbtexan said:

Thanks,

I think the trio of Brown,Johnson and Brayton will do an adeqate job replacing Peppers.

What are the Fla. colleges rated talent wise compared to previous years?

Who are some of the guys to keep an eye on?

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This may be a topic for a different thread but here's my take on Miami and Florida State.

FSU and Miami are just starting to see their good recruiting classes pay off. This year will be a big year for alot of sophomores and juniors on those teams. There is more talent on these two teams than there has been in 5 years.

Miami is stacked at the skill positions. They have a talented group of receivers in senior Leonard Hankerson and juniors Travis Benjamin, Aldarious Johnson, and LaRon Byrd. Johnson played at Northwestern highschool in Miami with QB Jacory Harris when they were the #1 team in the nation and he should be the #1 or 2 target this year. Benjamin is an absolute speed demon.

They have several freshman running backs (Eduardo Clements and Storm Johnson) that are very good coming in to help Graig Cooper and Mike James.

On defense watch out for junior DT Marcus Forston. He was also on that Northwestern team with Harris and Johnson and was one of the top players in the nation coming out of college. Junior LB Sean Spence, another former Northwestern player, is a great player and will most likely have a great year as well. Watch out for senior DT Allen Bailey, he had a good year last year. He has played both DE and DT and is only listed at 280 right now. We'll see what it is this year. CB Brandon Harris has alot of potential.

Florida State has a couple of highly recruited sophomore receivers in Willie Haulstead and Rodney Smith that will both be counted on heavily. Juniors Bert Reed and Taiwan Easterling will be the top two targets. Ponder should have alot of weapons to use this year. There are five freshman receivers coming in this year and most of them are top notch recruits like Christian Green and Kenny Shaw.

Junior RB Jermaine Thomas is in a big year because he hasn't solidified his starting position and there are guys like sophomores Lonnie Pryor and Chris Thompson pushing for playing time.

The offensive line is finally coming of age. At one point they were the youngest offensive line in the FBS. Now the line is solidified with junior LT Andrew Datko, senior LG Rodney Hudson, senior C Ryan McMahon, junior RG David Spurlock, and junior RT Zebrie Sanders. Hudson and McMahon are 3 year starters, while Datko and Sanders have two years starting under their belts. Spurlock came into the lineup as the RG in week 6 of his freshman year (2008) due to injury and hasn't given up the job since.

The FSU defense has a ton of talent. It will be interesting to see what former East Carolina DC Greg Hudson (now FSU LB Coach) and former Arizona DC Mark Stoops (now FSU DC) do with this defense.

Junior LB Nigel Bradham can play inside or outside, he has the size and speed to do whatever he wants. He is likely a future first rounder. Sophomore LB Vince Williams and Freshman LB Christian Jones will be counted on heavily to contribute. Jones is supposed to be a great football player.

On the defensive line, sophomore DT Jacobbi McDaniel was the #1 DT coming out of high school and should have a big year as he is the top guy at the position now due to junior DT Moses McCray's recent season ending ACL tear in preseason practice. Sophomore Everette Dawkins and redshirt freshman DeMonte McCalister should get the majority of the rest of the PT at the position. Sophomore DE Brandon Jenkins is going to be a great player IMO. He showed some flashes last year as a true freshman against the pass and run. Senior DE Markus White is kind of a wild card. If he has a big year he could shoot up draft boards. He broke junior college records before having having two just above mediocre seasons at FSU. I think he had like 24 sacks in one season in junior college.

The Seminole secondary is going to be scary for opposing teams late in the season when they get some experience against the likes of Oklahoma, BYU, Miami, and Florida. The group is comprised of mostly freshman and sophomores, but they are all talented. Both sophomore CB Greg Reid and freshman CB Lamarcus Joyner were the top recruits at their position in 2009 and 2010 respectively. They are also both excellent return guys and Jimbo Fisher has already talked a little about using them on offense a little bit. Reid should have a breakout year at corner this year. Redshirt freshman backup CB Xavier Rhodes is getting rave reviews by the coaches. Both of the starting safeties, junior SS Nick Moody and FS Terrance Parks, are 220+ pounds. Sophomore S Jajuan Harley will find his way onto the field somehow, either by nickel back or by winning one of the safety spots. The whole secondary has limited experience but huge potential.

I don't know enough about Florida to speak at length about them but I know they have had highly rated classes for the past 3-5 years.