Mason Rudolph and James Washington Have Been Through This Before
When Mason Rudolph hit the ground after being hit by Earl Thomas in the third quarter of the Steelers' Week 5 matchup, the entire team gasped. The offensive line gathered around their quarterback, JuJu Smith-Schuster nearly collapsed in shock, all while the rest of the team stopped, waiting for the life to reappear in their teammate.
It was a moment that touched home with the Steelers. Nearly two-years ago, some of these same players watched Ryan Shazier lay on the ground and never return to the field. Unable to move his legs, Shazier was carted off the field, wiping tears from his eyes.
James Washington and Mason Rudolph weren't part of that 2017 team that lost Shazier. Both were playing in their senior seasons at Oklahoma State, but experienced nearly the same heart-stopping moment the year before.
In 2016, during a game against the Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma State was lined up facing a 2nd and 10 on the Texas 42 yard-line in the third quarter of a midseason conference showdown. Rudolph threw a quick screen to Washington who was grabbed and spun by one defender and then hit in the helmet by another.
Fighting to hold onto the ball, Washington remembers spinning and then - black.
"I remember catching the ball, the guy was spinning me and then I remember waking up," Washington explained. "I heard a loud boom and went limp. That was it."
Washington was knocked unconscious by a hit from Malcom Roach, leaving him unresponsive for nearly two minutes, surrounded by teammates and medical staff.
"I caught a screen and the guy was standing around," Washington explained. "The guy came and hit me in the ear, kind of the same deal [as Rudolph] - I was out before I hit the ground."
The experience allowed Washington to know exactly what his quarterback was going through the moment Thomas hit him. Rudolph said his memory of the play is blurry, but he didn't feel it was as extreme as it looked. Washington understood that as scary it looked, these things seem worse than they are.
"Kind of the same deal happened to me in college, so we've both been knocked out," Washington said. "It was one of those freak accident deals."
Rudolph said his memory of the play before was clear, but besides recalling seeing Thomas before being hit, he doesn't remember what happened between the snap and walking off the field.
"I didn't remember the play at all," Rudolph said. "But everything before the play and after the play was weird, so I had to go back and ask the coach 'what was the play call?' because for some reason just that play was kind of blank and everything before and after was clear as day."
Washington could relate. Although his remembrance of the play was stronger than Rudolph's, coming-to after being knocked unconscious left him dazed. Yet, despite both players blacking out, neither wanted to leave the game.
"It felt like you woke up from a nap really," Washington said. "I told them I can keep playing, and they were like 'naw naw, you can't play anymore.' You have to take those precautionary measures and take it step-by-step."
Returning from an injury this significant can leave people timid. Unfortunately, the game of football doesn't allow players to spend much time adapting back to game speed. Because of the physicality of the sport, the risk becomes bigger when you play to avoid others.
Washington knows that even if Rudolph is saying he's going to come back and play the same speed, it'll take a few plays.
"I think it's going to take a few plays," Washington said. "You can't get hurt and not think about it.
We played Iowa State the next week and I caught a slant and the safety came in - he came in aiming for my head, I know it - and I caught it and just kind of slid. He went right over my head and I was like 'man, these guys are trying to get me again'. You're just playing like you're thinking about it, but I caught a few deep balls from Mason and we got rolling and the thought was gone."
The experience immediately sparked the memory in Washington's brain. Standing on the sidelines, watching to see if his friend would get up - the receiver started to think back of his time being in Rudolph's position.
The two have shared a connection since the moment they entered the NFL. College teammates now with a chance to make their marks on the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise. And despite everything being fine, Rudolph being cleared, and another moment turning out better than it looked - it was an instance where you remember just what they're sacrificing to play the game they love.
"You walk over there and your buddy is laying there and you're shocked," Washington said. "It's hard because it brings back memories of me, but like I said, that's football. It's in our job description, there's nothing you can really do about it."
