Jake Rudock to transfer to Michigan
Michigan will add one more quarterback to its roster for the 2015 season. Fifth-year senior Jake Rudock plans to transfer to the school and play for the Wolverines next fall, according to a source close to the situation.
Rudock, who started the past two seasons at Iowa, received a waiver from the Big Ten that will allow him to play in his first year at his new school. His experience will likely help him jump to the front of a long list of quarterbacks battling for the starting job this year.
Rudock was once recruited to Miami by now Michigan passing game coordinator Jedd Fisch.
Michigan has added several quarterbacks to its roster since new coach Jim Harbaugh arrived in January. Freshman Alex Malzone enrolled early to take part in spring drills. His classmate Zach Gentry, a four-star recruit from New Mexico, will join the team this summer. Former Houston starter John O'Korn also plans to transfer to Ann Arbor this summer.
O'Korn, a junior-to-be who went to the same high school as Rudock, won't be eligible to play until the 2016 season.
Rudock visited Michigan's campus in March, but still needed clearance from the conference when Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz released him with "no strings attached" to seek a roster spot at any school he wanted. The league's intra-conference transfer policy requires that players sit out a season even if they are eligible to play right away under NCAA graduate student transfer rules. Rudock needed the Big Ten to waive that requirement before he could consider playing at Michigan.
Malzone competed with junior Shane Morris and redshirt freshman Wilton Speight during spring practice for the starting job. Morris is the only quarterback currently on Michigan's campus who has any collegiate experience. He started one game in 2014 and completed 14 of his 40 pass attempts for 128 yards and three interceptions.
Michigan offensive coordinator Tim Drevno said Tuesday that no leader had emerged from the pack at quarterback through 13 of 15 spring practices. He said he felt good about where that trio stood heading into Saturday's spring game, but it would be possible for a newcomer to join the team during the offseason and be ready to start by Sept. 3 when the Wolverines open their season at Utah.
"You do it all the time in terms of pro football," said Drevno, who coached the San Francisco 49ers with Harbaugh. "That's why every day you come out and you've got to compete at a high level."
After starting 25 of the past 26 games as a Hawkeye, Rudock dropped behind junior C.J. Beathard on a depth chart the team released in January. Ferentz said he wanted to give Rudock a fair chance to evaluate his options going into his final college season.
"Bottom line is I want him to be happy about his opportunities in front of him," Ferentz told reporters last week. "If Jake's heart is not totally in being here, then it's probably best that he does go somewhere else."
Rudock completed 61.7 percent of his passes last year while throwing for 2,436 yards and 16 touchdowns. He had interest from several other schools this spring, including Boise State, Fresno State, Vanderbilt and Maryland.
ESPN's Joe Schad and John Congemi contributed to this report.
