Rod Rutherford returns as head coach of perry
- Thread starter ratking17
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I saw Rod a couple of weeks ago at Chipotle I said HTP he smiled. Good for Rod
Congrats to him and best of luck!
I'll always remember him for the greatest Pitt game to date in Heinz Field, against VT in 03, making a gutty scramble on the final drive and other clutch completions to set up the winning TD.
I'll always remember him for the greatest Pitt game to date in Heinz Field, against VT in 03, making a gutty scramble on the final drive and other clutch completions to set up the winning TD.
Another Coach produced by Pitt! I 12-0 Win Over Penn State and remember Rutherford, a product of Pittsburgh's Perry Traditional Academy, scored the game's only touchdown, taking a pass from Turman 62 yards. The freshman, who practiced at receiver, made his first collegiate reception a big one.!
I'll always remember when he absolutely trucked Jon Vilma right out of his pads on a long sideline run against Miami. Rod was a beast.
For those people fans on this board that are too young to remember, rod Rutherford was the biggest deal in western Pennsylvania.
I couldn't have cared less about city league but we used to go down to see Rod play at South Stadium, people used to line up outside of the stadium just to see him play. 40 people would go to those city games in late 90s, but when Rod was playing, there would be a line all the way running down to Carson Street.
He was the real deal, as big as it got as far as high school football recruiting in western Pennsylvania
I couldn't have cared less about city league but we used to go down to see Rod play at South Stadium, people used to line up outside of the stadium just to see him play. 40 people would go to those city games in late 90s, but when Rod was playing, there would be a line all the way running down to Carson Street.
He was the real deal, as big as it got as far as high school football recruiting in western Pennsylvania
One less than it should have been. Wlat's boner in the Tire Bowl should have, would have, could have been the difference in the game.
Its worked out well for him overall, including making a few bucks as a pro player but the flip side is you still have to wonder if there wouldn't have been a bigger better result of he had had the interest to become a full time receiver. Or had followed the path of basketball. I respect his tenacity and integrity to have kept with it as a QB, and he became a decent one that won games and got a shot as a pro. But for those who witnessed it you know it was a grind, for him and Walt Harris. Rod was NOT a natural. As it was he definitely did benefit from having s supernatural Fitz as well as Kris Wilson, Brockenbrough etc (though most great QB have excellent receivers to complement them). But he really only got to the level of serviceable even with all the effort and years spent. Frankly I doubt another coach could have guided him to where he got, or would have had the patience to not yank him or force him to move positions. So it was a situation you always have to wonder what if...
Walt Harris did a great job in developing Rutherford as a QB...he was really raw coming out of HS. I still believe, however, that Rutherford would have been even better yet had he not put on so much weight and been able to show the running ability and elusiveness he flashed early on in his career. He became a pure drop back QB, I believe, to his detriment. The guy who ran for that long TD against UPS as a freshman wasn't the same runner 3 years later.
I was at that game and it was one of the fondest memories for years as far as games at Heinz field. Personally though I think last year's penn State game easily topped that with the wild finish. That's just my personal take though.
And who could forget when he committed to PITT that JACKOFF Joe was at Rod's school thinking that he was committing to state penn. That was AWESOME!!!!
He never got the credit he deserved.
Also look back at those games and see how many times he got hit. And if the wr wasn't 5 "6" we beat Miami that night in coral gables.
Also look back at those games and see how many times he got hit. And if the wr wasn't 5 "6" we beat Miami that night in coral gables.
Disagree that QB was not RR's natural fit. He had a cannon arm, size, strength and speed. Sure having a WR like Fitz helped him but at the same time he had a mediocre O line, running game and secondary outside receivers. Wilson had talent but was inconsistent: I vividly remember watching Wilson drop a perfectly thrown ball on a deep post route at ND that, as it turned out, would've given WLAT and the program one of their biggest wins in years. Instead it was another close loss to a strong opponent.
I can only imagine what Rod would've been able to do in Canada's offense last year. He would've been perfectly suited for it.
Actually agree. Meant to say Rod was not a natural as a drop back QB. He eventually became a decent one but it didn't adequately capitalize on his range of ability. He likely would have been much more of a threat in a more modern offense that encourage innovative hybrid QBs. Ironically Walt tried such an offense in earlier season but had the wrong QB for it and abandoned it after starting 1-5. Imagine if it had been even a little more successful and Walt kept with it and had perfected it by the time Rod came along as starter ... maybe that was actually the plan...
As it was Rod was still quite productive as a standard drop back QB (plus didn't have the greatest O lines nor much of a supporting run game). It's is a tribute to him. Again though its fair to say "what if" with him ... As Swervin said above its hard to over exaggerate what a major recruit he was at the time ... close to Terrell Pryor hype.
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That's true. In high school Rod ran an unofficial 4.4 40 in tennis shoes on grass.
I think RR is clearly underrated in what he did at Pitt. Clearly he benefited from Fitz but go back and watch some of those highlights. It's pretty amazing how many passes that RR threw that were nearly perfectly thrown. Fitz made some amazing catches along the way here but he also had a lot of very nicely thrown balls to work with.
As some others have said I think RR would have been even more dangerous had he stayed a bit lighter and would have been more of a run option similar to what Auburn did with Cam Newton. He could have been a scary dual threat qb.
As some others have said I think RR would have been even more dangerous had he stayed a bit lighter and would have been more of a run option similar to what Auburn did with Cam Newton. He could have been a scary dual threat qb.
In his last 2 years, Rod had 7000 yards of offense and 67 TDs. He was plenty good as a QB.
I concur with this. I give him lots of props for his play as it was, but your last sentence sums up what I think many always thought. It's certainly no guarantee he would have played better in such a system but the thought is intriguing. That is one major essence of sports, the champion celebrates and everyone else wonders "what if".
The greatest game to date at Heinz was last year and the score was 42-39 if you need a reminder. Great atmosphere and a huge win.
RR had as much hype recruiting-wise as Pryor?
Pryor and Julio Jones were the top players in that class - OVERALL.
Rod wasn't nowhere near that hyped.
Pryor and Julio Jones were the top players in that class - OVERALL.
Rod wasn't nowhere near that hyped.
I respect that opinion, but objectively the VT game was way better IMO. It was later in the season. VT was highly ranked. We had a buzz as a team possibly in the rise. We had they best player in college football (I love Conner but Fitz was sublime) and VT had a couple guys rated highly too. It was considered a great matchup. ESPN Game Day was there, showing It was far more significant nationally (at that point in time). It was classic football weather and the night setting made it more 'epic'. The tailgating scene was simply better overall at that time too, and it was crazy all day and night in the lots(for the PSU game, it was too early, too divided, the overall scene stinks now, and frankly it was just blase). The game went back and forth and came down to a dramatic Pitt scoring drive with a tremendous individual effort on a goal line confrontation to get into the end zone. Then a clutch pick to ice it.
Last year game had that similar pick to end it (more luck than skill but you certainly take it), and the early flurry of scores was certainly fun. Loved seeing Conner with big early plays. But frankly, the rest of the game was not great. Start with the weather ... sickeningly hot. I respect some may like such heat but it made that day simply brutal to endure. As for the relevance. ... while much later in the season the fact they lost to us did certainly impact their finish, this was far from known or even thought of at the time. Neither team had any national standing. The game barely caused a blip on the national radar. Hence the crappy start time. And while the ultimate result was fine, the way they game went in the second half was not fun to watch. Perhaps at least due to the weather (or far more jerks in the crowd), and basically blowing that huge lead, it was closer to nauseating, actually.
Merely ending with 3 points more than the opponent on the scoreboard, even if was a rival, doesn't make the game a classic. A great classic game shouldn't leave you with any such negative memories as above, even if the result technically was positive. It's not just the numbers but the experience.
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"Good for Rod" for the job or escaping Chipotle diarrhea? Let's not get sloppy with our grammar now as the season approaches and we need to be on the top of our games.
