The long-simmering Jake Rudock-to-Michigan transfer appears to be all but a done deal after a Wednesday report that the Big Ten won't stand in Rudock's way.
From Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports:
Heard #Iowa transfer QB Jake Rudock's waiver has been approved by the BigTen. #Michigan would be a go for 2015, a source told @FoxSports.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) April 1, 2015
With the waiver granted, multiple outlets including Wolverine247.com are reporting that Rudock will join Michigan this fall as a graduate transfer. The 2014 Iowa starter visited Ann Arbor recently and was expected to accept a scholarship offer from the Wolverines if one was extended -- and the Big Ten signed off on the rare intra-conference transfer. Rudock has one season of eligibility remaining and will be eligible immediately.
A key factor in Rudock's transfer is that Iowa has reportedly declined to deny him a release to their Big Ten rivals. The Hawkeyes and Wolverines are not scheduled to play during the 2015 season, though there is the possibility -- the distant possibility -- the two could meet in the conference title game.
Rudock spent two seasons as Iowa's starting quarterback, posting a 16-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his 12 appearances in 2014, when he threw for 2,436 yards. But Rudock was benched for the then-sophomore C.J. Beathard in the Hawkeyes' 45-28 thumping at the hands of Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl, and an unusual pre-spring practice depth chart released by Kirk Ferentz in January listed Beathard as the starter going forward.
Rudock would be the second high-profile transfer to arrive at Michigan this offseason, joining former Houston starter John O'Korn. O'Korn, however, is not expected to be eligible this season, meaning he and Rudock would never go head-to-head for the same hypothetical starting job.
Instead, Rudock's competition for the 2015 starting job will be junior Shane Morris, redshirt freshman Wilton Speight, and early-enrolling freshman Alex Malzone -- candidates that despite their spring practice leg up should no doubt be worried that Jim Harbaugh seems so intent on finding useful quarterbacks outside the current Michigan roster. And that Rudock already has two seasons' worth of productive Big Ten experience in a Greg Davis offense let's just say isn't always conducive to productive quarterbacking? All the more reason to worry.
