CINCINNATI — Every snap of this football season has significant meaning to Taft High School junior defensive end Elias Rudolph.
"I've got a chip on my shoulder for my brother," Rudolph said Tuesday during practice. "This year, I'm just going hard. I got to dedicate this year to him."
Rudolph, one of Ohio's top football players in the 2024 class, draws inspiration from the memory of his late brother, former Taft football player Gianni Rudolph.
Gianni Rudolph died in December. He was just 19 years old.
"Him being gone — that was hard," Elias Rudolph said. "That's who I was looking up to. If I didn't have a role model, Gianni Rudolph was my role model."
The brothers' bond went beyond football. They were roommates. They shared a love of music.
"He thinks of him a lot," Taft football coach Tyler Williams said. "I talked to him before the (first) game and I'm like, 'Who do you do it for?' Who do you really do it for?' Sometimes I tell him it's bigger than football. He is literally playing for his brother."
Elias, who also plays tight end, was a freshman when Gianni was a senior at Taft. Elias decided to change his jersey number from No. 5 to Gianni's No. 9 this season.
"When my brother passed it was only right that I had No. 9 because I couldn't see nobody else with his jersey," Elias Rudolph said. "While I was still at Taft - No. 9 — it was mandatory for me to wear."
Elias knows Gianni would be proud of this start to the season as Taft (1-0) prepares to play host Wyoming (1-0) at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Stargel Stadium.
Rudolph earned nine tackles including three sacks in the Senators' 32-0 win at Roger Bacon last week. He played almost 70 snaps on both sides of the ball, according to Taft coach Tyler Williams.
"His motor is unbelievable on defense," Williams said. "The kid will go and get five or six tackles on a drive and then he will come back on offense and block for (senior running back) Gavin (Crawford) or anyone of our running backs that score. You can't ask for anything better than that."
Rudolph will often go above and beyond what is required on the field, Williams said.
"He gets here early; he leaves late," Rudolph said. "He calls me late at night. He's like, 'Coach I've seen this on film. How can I get better at this? What different stunts can we do for this? What can I do to help out the offense?' He's a very good team player. And then off the field, he's been doing amazing."
Rudolph has mentored a group of seventh and eighth grade students who watch Taft's practice. He has helped the students learn about Taft High School including the school chants, how to properly set up a practice field and about making good decisions on and off the field.
It's all part of how football has had a major role in Rudolph's life. He is grateful for how much Williams has been a role model to him especially in the past year.
"He's been a big brother to me," Rudolph said. "He's been more than just a head coach. He showed me the way. He has helped me deal with my strengths. Coach Tyler - that's somebody I real life love and admire for all the things he did for me and this whole program and community. In my eyes, coach Tyler is legendary."
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