November 14, 2004
Rudulph suspended after assaulting National Guardsman
By CLIFF KIRKPATRICK
for the Mail Tribune
STANFORD, Calif. — Joe Rudulph was suspended indefinitely by Oregon State football coach Mike Riley on Saturday morning.
The redshirt freshman was arrested Friday morning for allegedly assaulting a National Guardsman on leave from Iraq at the Headline Cafe, according to
Capt. Jon Sassman of the Corvallis Police Department.
Rudulph, a second-string defensive end, was charged with fourth-degree assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. His initial arraignment is scheduled
for 2 p.m. on Dec. 9 in the Benton County Courthouse.
"I'd rather not remark on it," Riley said. "I need to find out more. I just know enough to know I needed to suspend him. Individually, and
for our team, we are very upset about this."
Rudulph traveled with the Beavers to the game at Stanford, but did not dress down and stayed on the bench. He declined to comment.
According to Sassman, Rudulph and two other unidentified OSU football players instigated the incident with Staff Sgt. Gabriel Sapp and his wife.
Sapp returned to Iraq Friday. He's a squad leader assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, 39th Brigade Combat Team.
Sassman said there were racial comments by the football players, who are black, to Sapp's wife, who is also black, about her relationship with a white
person.
Sapp was hit in the face and knocked out when he hit the ground.
AUSTIN USHER OF Jefferson High in Los Angeles verbally committed to OSU, according to Rivals.com. He's a 6-foot-2, 195-pound wide receiver.
Usher runs a 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds, has a vertical leap of 30 inches and is ranked the 11th best wide receiver in the country by Rivals.
His brother is a reserve offensive lineman for OSU, Whitfield Usher. That connection contributed to Austin Usher choosing the Beavers over California.
"It was the toughest decision of my life but I just felt like Oregon State was the best place for me," Usher said. "They have been
recruiting me for a long time and the fact that my older brother is there was more important than I thought it would be. Just having someone there who
can show me around and help me get used to the college life was important, and that really was the major difference."
Usher makes it six high school players who've committed to the Beavers for next season. The others are quarterback Sean Canfield of Carlsbad, Calif.,
linebacker Bryant Cornell from Dallas, quarterback Kevin Lopina of Concord, Calif., offensive lineman Michael Mark from Joseph and running back Tirrell
Thompson of Battle Ground, Wash.
JUNIOR SPLIT END Mike Hass caught eight passed for 110 yards and touchdown. The yardage moved him closer to OSU's single-season record. He has
1,220 yards, and needs 187 to surpass James Newson, who had 1,306 in 2003.
Hass is third in OSU history with 2,133 career yards. He needs 98 to catch Reggie Bynum (1982-85) and 1,439 to reach Newson.
Quarterback Derek Anderson is fourth in the Pac-10 in career passing yards with 10,540. He's also fifth in career touchdown passes with 71.
SAM PAULESCU CONTINUES to improve his directional punting. He pinned the Cardinal inside its 20-yard line three times. He averaged 43.3 yards on
his seven punts.
"I thought our punter was terrific," Riley said.
OFFENSIVE GUARD ROY SCHUENING caught the first pass of his career. That's right, he had one reception for 1 yard.
Anderson's pass was tipped by Stanford's Oshiomogho Atogwe early in the third quarter, and landed in Schuening's arms.
SENIOR OUTSIDE LINEBACKER Jonathan Pollard was available, but did not play. The team's co-captain is still recovering from a high left ankle
sprain suffered Oct. 30.
STANFORD INSIDE LINEBACKER David Bergeron of Lake Oswego was the team's leading tackler with 16, seven of them solo.
Cliff Kirkpatrick covers Oregon State football for the Corvallis Gazette-Times.
