William Rodney Hudson (born July 12, 1989) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
who is a free agent. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
, and was a two-time
All-American. He was drafted by the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
in the second round of the
2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...
. He also played for the
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...
and
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
.
Early years
Hudson was born in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
. He attended
B. C. Rain High School
Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS) is a school district based in unincorporated Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The system currently serves areas of Mobile County, including the city of Mobile, with the exception of the cities of ...
in Mobile, where he was a two-way lineman for the Raiders high school football team. He graded out at 95 percent for his entire senior season with a total of 47 pancake blocks, while also being a standout on defense as he recorded 55
tackles
Tackle may refer to:
* In football:
** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football
** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football
** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...
as
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
. He earned All-State first team honors as a junior and senior.
Besides his football commitments, Hudson was forced to work nights at a local
Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
restaurant to support his single mother throughout high school.
Considered a three-star recruit by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
, Hudson was listed as the No. 17 center in the nation. He also received a three-star rating by
Scout.com
Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...
, and ranked 45th on their offensive guard list. He selected Florida State over
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
and
Southern Miss
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
, among others.
College career
Hudson attended
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
, and played for coach
Bobby Bowden
Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...
and coach
Jimbo Fisher
John James "Jimbo" Fisher Jr. (born October 9, 1965) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies Football, Texas A&M Aggies. Previously, Fisher was the head coach at Florida State Seminol ...
's
Florida State Seminoles football
The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of American football. The Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Colle ...
team from 2007 to 2010. As a true freshman in 2007, he started 10 of 13 games at left guard and left
tackle. He was named the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week for his performance in the Seminoles' victory over the second ranked
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
. At the end of the season, he earned numerous honors such as a
Freshman All-American
Underclass All-American is an honorific for high school and college athletes for excellence in competition. The athletes recognized with this title are considered the best players of a specific season in their sport that are members of a given cla ...
first-team selection by ''College Football News'' and the
Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...
, and All-ACC third-team honors by
Phil Steele
Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, prod ...
. As a sophomore in 2008 Hudson earned ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week three times. At the end of the season, he earned a first-team All-ACC selection by Rivals.com and Phil Steele.
In 2009, Hudson was listed at No. 2 on Rivals.com's preseason interior lineman power ranking in 2009.
Hudson was the winner of the ACC Jacobs Blocking Award as the league's most dominant offensive lineman.
He earned FWAA first-team All-American honors and was an Associated Press second-team All-American.
In the 2010 preseason, Hudson was a watch list candidate for the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy.
In November 2010, he was named one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, along with
Gabe Carimi
Gabriel Andrew Carimi ( ; born June 13, 1988) is a former American football guard. Carimi had 49 starts at left tackle in his four-year Wisconsin Badgers college career, which culminated at the 2011 Rose Bowl. He was awarded the 2010 Outland Tr ...
and
Nate Solder
Nathaniel Perry Solder (born April 12, 1988) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Colorado, and was recognized as an All-American. He was drafted by the New England Patri ...
; Carimi won the award. Hudson was a first-team All-ACC selection for the third consecutive season, and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American.
After four years of starting, Hudson left FSU as the most decorated offensive lineman in Seminole history. Hudson was listed as the 24th best player in FSU history by the ''Orlando Sentinel'' before his senior season had even been played.
Professional career
Hudson was graded as the sixth best available offensive guard in the
2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...
and projected to be a second to third round pick by ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
''.
He was projected to be moved to center, due to his "limited size".
He was ranked as the best Center and the 52nd overall prospect by NFLDraftScout.com.
Kansas City Chiefs
2011
Hudson was drafted in the second round, with the 55th overall pick, by the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
. He was the highest selected Seminoles offensive lineman since
Alex Barron went 19th overall to the St. Louis Rams in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
. On July 29, 2011, the Kansas City Chiefs signed him to a four-year, $3.50 million contract with a signing bonus of $104,892.
He entered training camp his rookie year competing with veteran
Casey Wiegmann
Casey Peter Wiegmann (born July 20, 1973) is a former American football Center (American football), center who played sixteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Iowa. He was signed by ...
for the starting center position. He was named the backup center to Wiegmann to begin the regular season.
He made his regular season debut in the Kansas City Chiefs' season-opening loss to the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
. On November 27, 2011, Hudson earned his first career start during a 13-9 loss to the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
. He finished his rookie season with 16 games and one start as the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
finished 7–9 and fired head coach
Todd Haley
Richard Todd Haley (born February 28, 1967) is an American football coach who is the current head coach and general manager for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL). From 1997 to 2006, he had stints as the wide rece ...
.
2012
Hudson entered training camp in 2012, competing with
Rob Bruggeman and Cam Holland to be the Chiefs' starting center. Head coach
Romeo Crennel
Romeo Crennel (born June 18, 1947) is a former American football coach, who was the senior advisor for football performance for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A former long-time coaching assistant to Bill Parcells, Cre ...
named Hudson the starting center to begin the regular season. On September 23, 2012, Hudson suffered a broken leg during the Chiefs' 27–24 overtime victory against the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
. He was placed on injured-reserve for the remainder of the season three days later and finished his second season with three starts in the first three games.
2013
Hudson returned in time for training camp and competed with
Eric Kush
Eric Kush (born September 9, 1989) is an American football Guard (American football), guard who is a free agent. He played college football at California Vulcans football, California University of Pennsylvania. Kush was selected by the Kansas Ci ...
and
Tommie Draheim to keep his job as the starting center. The Kansas City Chiefs' new head coach,
Andy Reid
Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...
, named him the starting center to begin the regular season. Hudson played in all 16 games and started the first 15, helping the Chiefs achieve an 11–5 record.
On January 4, 2014, he started in his first career playoff game as the Chiefs were defeated by the Indianapolis Colts, 45–44, in the AFC Wildcard Round.
2014
Hudson entered the 2014 regular season as the Kansas City Chiefs' ''de facto'' starter at center. He started all 16 regular season games for the first time in his career and became a free agent after the season.
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London.
Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...
ranked him the fourth-best center of 2014 and
Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
ranked him the fifth-best center.
Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders
On March 11, 2015, the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
signed Hudson to a five-year, $44.5 million contract with $20 million guaranteed.
He finished his first season with the Raiders giving up only eight pressures and starting 13 games. Hudson missed Weeks 10, 12, and 13 with a sprained right ankle and had
Tony Bergstrom
Steven Anthony "Tony" Bergstrom (born August 6, 1986) is an American football center who is a free agent. He played college football at Utah, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He has also played ...
fill in.
Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
ranked him the fifth best center in 2015 and graded him as the best pass blocker at center.
Hudson returned as the Raiders' starting center in 2016, started all 16 regular season games, and was the only player on the team to play every offensive snap. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl along with fellow Raider's offensive linemen
Donald Penn
Donald Ward Penn (born April 27, 1983) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Utah State Aggies, Utah State, and was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2006. Penn has also played f ...
and
Kelechi Osemele
Kelechi Keith Ayo Osemele (; ; born June 24, 1989) is an American football offensive guard who is a free agent. He played college football at Iowa State. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and w ...
.
On December 19, 2017, Hudson was named to his second Pro Bowl along with fellow Raider offensive linemen Donald Penn and Kelechi Osemele for the second straight year.
On August 30, 2019, Hudson signed a three-year, $33.75 million contract extension with the Raiders, making him the highest-paid center in the NFL.
Hudson was placed on the reserve/
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
list by the team on October 22, 2020, and was activated two days later.
Arizona Cardinals
Hudson, along with a seventh-round selection in the
2021 NFL Draft
The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...
, was traded to the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
on March 17, 2021, in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was named the Cardinals starting center for the 2021 season. He was placed on injured reserve on October 16 with rib and shoulder injuries. He was activated on November 6.
After contemplating retirement in the offseason, Hudson returned as the Cardinals starting center in 2022. He started the first four games, then missed the next five games before being placed on injured reserve on November 12, 2022.
References
External links
*
Las Vegas Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Rodney
1989 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football centers
American football offensive guards
Florida State Seminoles football players
Kansas City Chiefs players
Las Vegas Raiders players
Oakland Raiders players
Arizona Cardinals players
Players of American football from Mobile, Alabama
American Conference Pro Bowl players