2020 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Donald Rutledge Jr., SS, Georgia Southern University
Student-Athlete Profile:
- Donald Rutledge Jr.
- Georgia Southern University
- SS
- 6’1”
- 210LBS.
- Hometown: Sumter, SC
- Twitter: @StuckInARutt__
2019 Statistics:
- GP: 12
- GS: 9
- Total Tackles: 50
- TFL: 1.0
- INT: 1
- PBU: 5
- QBH: 1
You’ve made quite the splash during your first year in Statesboro after transferring from Savannah State. What made Georgia Southern the right fit to further your education and football career?
GA Southern has a great engineering program first and foremost. Then it came down to meet the staff and they all accepted me as a member of the family. Great coaches and even better men across the board. It wasn’t too far from home and has a great football atmosphere.
After graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering, you are now pursuing a Graduate degree in Manufacturing Engineering. When football comes to an end, what do you plan on doing with that knowledge?
I haven’t looked into that just yet. I just wanted to make sure I build a solid foundation to stand on when football is over for me. Then I’ll use my degree and networking to start a career elsewhere.
What have you taken away the most from Coach Lunsford, Coach Sloan, and the rest of the Georgia Southern Football staff?
Coach Lunsford always preaches the little things and Coach Sloan is a defensive guru, he breaks the game down to a play at a time and understanding the different situations of those plays. There’s teaching you can take away from each coach if you’re willing to
Who is the toughest player you’ve competed against during your collegiate career?
I’d probably say GA State QB, Dan Ellington. Tore his ACL and still finished the season strong for his team I can respect that.
In your opinion, who is the best player in the NFL?
Offensively I’d have to go with Lamar Jackson. Defensively I’m leaning towards Derwin James just because of how versatile he has been for the Chargers defense.
You’re in front of all 32 NFL General Managers and have 15 words or less to give them your pitch on why Donald Rutledge Jr. will be an asset to their organization for years to come. What do you tell them?
They are getting a guy who’s hardworking, competitive and most importantly reliable.