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          Big 12 Blog

          Spring ends, but Oklahoma State QB Mason Rudolph's Heisman campaign just beginning

          Mason Rudolph is one of only two returning 4,000-yard passers in the Power 5. Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo
          • Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior WriterApr 17, 2017, 01:30 PM
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              Jake Trotter covers college football for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2011. Before that, he worked at The Oklahoman, Austin American-Statesman and Middletown (Ohio) Journal newspapers. You can follow him @Jake_Trotter.
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          STILLWATER, Okla. -- Just after Oklahoma State's spring game Saturday, Mason Rudolph was answering questions from reporters when punter Zach Sinor sprinted by and bellowed "Mason for Heisman!" which reverberated through the Boone Pickens Stadium tunnel.

          Just two days before, the Cowboys had launched a Heisman campaign for their senior quarterback with a cryptic tweet, which preceded the unveiling of Rudolph's own Heisman web page:

          Bump each letter up by two, and the code is unlocked: "Mason Rudolph for Heisman." A not-so subtle salvo in advance of one of the most anticipated seasons in Oklahoma State history and for the Cowboys' most viable Heisman contender in some three decades.

          "I think his success over a three-year period and his numbers kind of speak for themselves," said coach Mike Gundy, who spent his playing career handing off to Oklahoma State's first and only Heisman winner.

          "He's a great leader. He's winning. ... The success we've had with him as a quarterback, we kinda feel like he deserves that."

          Rudolph's success to this point in Stillwater is undeniable.

          With still a season to go, he's already just the second Oklahoma State quarterback since Gundy was behind center to lead the Cowboys to back-to-back 10-win seasons.

          And as one of only two Power 5 passers returning off a 4,000-yard season, Rudolph is also the biggest reason why the Pokes are primed to open in the top 10 of the preseason polls next season.

          "I think we're all excited about our senior season as a whole, not just me," Rudolph said. "I think we've got so many playmakers you could point to on this offense and the defensive side, who are huge components of this team. I'm excited about that."

          After a crisp spring game performance in which he completed 13 of 17 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, Rudolph continued to downplay his accelerated Heisman expectations. But he also embraced the pressure that's sure to come with them.

          "All I can control is ... one day at a time. My goal has to been to win a Big 12 championship," he said.

          "I've handled pressure my entire career, as well as high school [where he won a state championship]. That's not going to put anything on my shoulders that I can't bear. My job is to lead this team. They're putting it on my shoulders, so that's what I'm going to do."

          Rudolph is hardly the first Heisman hopeful to pass through Stillwater.

          Running backs Bob Fenimore (1945) and Terry Miller (1977) finished third and second in the voting, respectively. In 2010, wide receiver Justin Blackmon placed fifth, and the following year, quarterback Brandon Weeden popped up on straw polls during the season before fading late.

          But the greatest Heisman run in Oklahoma State history proved to be one of the greatest in college football history, as well.

          After two years backing up Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders exploded in 1988 for an FBS record 2,850 rushing yards and 42 rushing touchdowns on his way to capturing 61 percent of the first-place Heisman votes.

          "Barry just did it without any hype at all," said Gundy, Sanders' quarterback at Oklahoma State. "There wasn't a marketing ploy for him. Nobody really talked about it, including him. Because in a sense it wasn't important to him. I think at the end it was a thrill, he was excited. But he pretty much ran away with it.

          "With the media coverage and social media today, if he were to have that year now, it would be over by the fifth game with the way he was playing."

          Gundy acknowledged media and college football have changed over the last 29 years, which is why the Cowboys are being aggressive so early with Rudolph's Heisman campaign.

          "Because there's other organizations that are doing it, I think you have to be a little more aggressive than what maybe we're or I'm comfortable with," Gundy said. "I'm a little hesitant to do a lot of it, just because he has pressure on him every day, he doesn't need anymore. He just needs to go play.

          "But I think it's fair to put him in that situation, and that's why we came up with the plan we did about the code."

          Underscored by Sinor's drive-by shout-out, Rudolph's teammates have joined in on the marketing campaign.

          "He's a great candidate for it," slot receiver Jalen McCleskey said. "Us as a team, we're going to help him out. It's going to be fun."

          With McCleskey and James Washington headlining what could be the best receiving corps in the nation, the pieces are certainly in place for Rudolph to put up huge numbers this season. But his best path to New York will be to pass through Arlington, Texas, and the Big 12 championship game first.

          And in the face of the upcoming Heisman scrutiny, that's the code Rudolph said he's focused on cracking.

          "It's April, so [the Heisman campaign] doesn't matter at all," he said. "It has nothing to do with the season. If we get into that situation and that happened, that's fine.

          "Big 12 championship, that's all I care about at this point."