Logan Rudolph’s second act: Inside the Clemson defender’s decision to walk away
Clemson defensive end Logan Rudolph surprised many on Thursday when he announced that he is graduating from Clemson in May and giving up football to pursue an acting career.
While Rudolph’s decision caught most people off guard, it wasn’t a decision that was rushed into, his father Brett told The State. Instead, it was something Rudolph considered during the 2019 season as he dealt with bumps and bruises.
Clemson had its toughest game of the regular season against North Carolina on Sept. 28, and during the Tigers’ surprisingly close 21-20 victory, Rudolph felt a familiar pain.
The Rock Hill native missed most of his senior season of high school with a torn labrum in 2016 and had a second labrum surgery as a freshman at Clemson in 2017, which forced him to redshirt after appearing in only two games. Now, finally a starter for the Tigers this past season, Rudolph thought he had suffered another labrum injury against UNC and feared another season might be cut short.
“He had an AC joint sprain against North Carolina and was really concerned because that’s a painful injury in and of itself, and he couldn’t differentiate at the time what it was,” Logan’s father Brett said. “He kind of thought it was his labrum. And so after the game he was pretty upset, because he was concerned that that’s what it was. But it turned out to be not related to his surgery at all. It was just your typical AC joint sprain, which a lot of guys have to deal with. But it was the same shoulder.”
Rudolph would continue to play through some pain, appearing in all 15 games, with nine starts for the Tigers in 2019. But he also continued to have nagging injuries as Clemson made its way to the national title game for the fourth time in five years.
As the season wore on, Rudolph started telling those close to him that this might be his last season of football. In addition to the bumps and bruises he was constantly playing through, Rudolph had big goals for his life after football. He was set to graduate in May and could begin the next chapter of his life with a college degree in hand.
“During the season he kind of mentioned it and I said, ‘Now is not the time to make any kind of decisions. You really need to wait until the end of the season,’” Brett recalled. “When you’re several weeks into the season, your body is feeling the way it feels when you play, especially at that position, it isn’t the time to make the decision. We just said, ‘I hear you, but let’s talk about it after the season.’ He didn’t talk a lot about it but I knew that was on his mind. So when the season was finally over we did talk. He really didn’t waiver. He probably felt more convinced post-season that this is something that he wanted to do.”
Logan’s decision was made in part due to the minor and major injuries he dealt with throughout his football career and in part due to his desire to be an actor.
Logan has always enjoyed making people laugh, from his time growing up as a kid to this past season with the Tigers when he showcased his alter ego “Coach Stiff” for the media.
“He’s taken a beating... He’s thankful that he can walk away at this time and has had a lot of nagging injuries, as well as the two majors. So that’s a big part of it I think with him,” Brett said. “But also with him graduating in May, if that weren’t the case I’d feel a whole lot differently than I do, as disappointing as it is on one level, we’re really excited that he’s going to graduate. He’s got a lot of plans for his future and really seems to be ready to attack those opportunities in the way that he did football. So who can argue that, right?”
Brett is thankful for the way Clemson’s coaching staff handled the news, adding that head coach Dabo Swinney, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and other members of the staff are sad to see Logan go but are also supportive of his next step.
“I talked to coach Venables and he was very disappointed just because he’s really enjoyed having Logan on his side of the ball. And Logan really likes and respects him a lot,” Brett said. “But after hearing him out, I think they’re supportive. If he wasn’t graduating I think it’d be a different story and they would have every right to be not so understanding... When you make decisions like that, you find out what coaches really mean when they say, ‘Hey, we want you to come get your degree.’ They wanted him to play football, and he gave them everything he had for three seasons and 3.5 years. I would’ve not been surprised if they would’ve not been quite as understanding, but they were good and for that I’m thankful.”
Logan grew up in a football family, with Brett playing at North Carolina and his brother Mason Rudolph playing at Oklahoma State and now with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Brett helped Logan as much as he could with football but won’t be much assistance as Logan tries to begin his acting career. Still, he’ll support him any way he can.
“He’s been a part of a team that accomplished far more than any of us who played ever did and ever could dream of. I told him, I think he’s going to realize as time goes on how fortunate he was to be a part of a program like that,” Brett said. “If he approaches acting with the same effort and energy that he has football, then yea, I guess he’s got a chance. That’s just a world that I know very little about. I’m at a loss there to help him… But I want him to remember where he’s from and who he is, and if he can do that we’ll certainly support him in that effort as well.”
