Mike Dudek

Mike Dudek (born August 21, 1995) was an American football wide receiver for the Illinois Fighting Illini. As a true freshman, Dudek broke Illinois' school record for receiving yards by a freshman, previously set by Arrelious Benn in 2007.[1]

Mike Dudek
Illinois Fighting Illini – No. 18
PositionWide receiver
ClassSenior
MajorBusiness
Personal information
Born: (1995-08-21) August 21, 1995
Naperville, Illinois
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career history
College
High schoolNeuqua Valley (IL)
Career highlights and awards
  • First Team Freshman All-American (2014)
  • Second Team All-Big Ten (2014)

High school

During his senior season, Dudek recorded 2,361 yards of Total offense, averaging 196.8 yards per game, and caught 23 TDs. This earned Dudek the Upstate Eight Conference Player of the Year award in 2013 and 1st Team All-State honors from the News-Gazette, Chicago Tribune, and IHSFCA.[2][3] Despite these honors, Dudek's only received two Football Championship Subdivision offers, from North Dakota State and Illinois State. Illinois was Dudek's only Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship offer and he was primarily recruited by Mike Bellamy.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Mike Dudek
WR		 Naperville, IL Neuqua Valley (IL) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 163 lb (74 kg) 4.61 Apr 3, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 76
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 72 (WR)   Rivals: N/A  247Sports: 145 (WR)  ESPN: 119 (WR)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Illinois Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  • "2014 Illinois Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  • "Illinois Cowboys". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  • "Illinois 2014 Football Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved 2014-12-08.

College career

Dudek enrolled early at Illinois and participated in spring 2014 practices, impressing coaches and drawing early comparisons to Wes Welker.[4] After Illinois' week 2 win over Western Kentucky in which Dudek had four receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown, he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.[5] Later in the season Dudek was named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list. The Biletnikoff Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football.[6] In the October 4th game at home against Purdue, Dudek became the fourth player in school history to catch at least 200 yards in a game, joining Steve Hull, A. J. Jenkins, and College Football Hall of Fame Inductee David Williams.[3] At the end of the 2014 season, Dudek led all Big Ten Conference freshmen in receptions and receiving yards.[7] In 2015 spring workouts, Dudek tore his ACL and was medically redshirted, ending his season.

Statistics

Through the end of the 2017 regular season, Dudek's statistics are as follows:[8]

NCAA Collegiate Career statistics
Illinois Fighting Illini
Season Receiving Rushing
GamesRecYardsYds/RecLongYds/GTDAttYardsAvgTD
2014 126996514.05680.465234.60
2015 Medical redshirt
2016 Did not play due to injury (Torn ACL)
2017 72426210.93137.410000

Personal life

Due to his physical stature as a wide receiver, Dudek oftentimes draws comparisons to NFL Pro Bowl wideout Wes Welker.[4][9][10] Dudek has also been timed running as fast as NFL Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall at 22 miles per hour (35 km/h).[11] Dudek has an older brother, Danny, who played college football for Dayton.[12]

References
  1. Greenberg, Steve (2014-11-01). "Illinois receiver Mike Dudek a breakout star". Chicago Sun-Times.
  2. "Mike Dudek". University of Illinois DIA. Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  3. Baumgartner, Blake (2014-10-31). "Former Neuqua standout, Dudek, is raising the bar at Illinois". Positively Naperville. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  4. Hine, Chris (2014-04-08). "Mike Dudek getting quick initiation at Illinois". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  5. "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". Big Ten Conference. 2014-09-08. Archived from the original on 2014-09-08. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  6. Duber, Vinnie (2014-10-07). "Illini wideout Mike Dudek added to Biletnikoff watch list". Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Archived from the original on 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  7. "Big Ten Player Receiving Statistics - 2014". ESPN. 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  8. "Mike Dudek" (PDF). www.fightingillini.com. Illinois Athletics. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  9. Tupper, Mark (2014-04-06). "Do Illini have next Welker?". Herald & Review. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  10. "Dudek, Allison give Illini as the Big Ten's top receiving tandem". Fox News. 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  11. Tupper, Mark (2014-10-19). "As fast as Bears' Marshall, Illini's Dudek runs 22 MPH on treadmill". Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Archived from the original on 2014-11-21. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  12. Carroll, Charlotte (2014-09-04). "Illini football's Dudek, brother share more than a birthday". The Daily Illini. Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
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