Travis Rudolph annihilates defender with stiff arm

Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Travis Rudolph destroyed Syracuse defensive back Corey Winfield with this vicious stiff arm.

The Syracuse Orange caught a big break when it was announced that the Florida State Seminoles would be without quarterback Everett Golson and running back Dalvin Cook for Saturday’s game. Both have been tremendous in 2015, serving as the Seminoles’ go-to playmakers.

In their absence, Travis Rudolph has taken it upon himself to be a human highlight reel.

Rudolph turned the first half of Florida State’s game against the Orange into his personal coming out party. He recorded four receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns, scoring on plays of 75 and 45 yards, respectively.

The most awe-inspiring moment of his astounding first half was a stiff arm for the ages.

In the immortal words of Huddie Ledbetter, “Goodnight, Irene.”

Rudolph sent Syracuse defensive back Corey Winfield into the 2016 season with that vicious stiff arm. It was the icing on the cake for an already tremendous play, including a catch in traffic, a nice cutback and a long-distance score.

If you didn’t have Rudolph on your radar before, he’s safely emerged as a player to watch during the Seminoles’ eighth game of 2015.

Rudolph is a 6’2″ sophomore who’s been more of a steady contributor than a productive playmaker thus far. He entered this week with 30 receptions for 310 yards and three touchdowns in seven games.

He tallied at least four receptions in five of those seven outings.

Prior to this game, however, he’d never been able to provide Florida State with a dominant performance. He’s always been a big play waiting to happen, but consistency has yet to arrive for the West Palm Beach native.

After watching him terrorize the Syracuse secondary in the first half, it’s safe to say Jimbo Fisher will be calling Rudolph’s number more often moving forward.