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Hudson taken with 55th pick

For the first time since 1997, Florida State had two offensive players selected in the first 55 picks of the National Football League Draft as offensive lineman Rodney Hudson joined quarterback Christian Ponder when the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Hudson 55th overall in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft Friday evening.
"I'm very excited," Hudson said after his selection Friday evening. "It's a great opportunity to go to the Chiefs. It's a great organization and I can't wait to get started. I'm very excited."
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"I'm really happy for Rodney," Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said. "He's been a tremendous player at Florida State, one of the all-time great linemen to ever play at Florida State. I'm happy for him and his family. He exuberates everything just like Christian [Ponder] as far as the type of person he is, the type of character he has and the hard worker he is and I think he'll have a great career in Kansas City."
Hudson becomes the first offensive lineman drafted since both fellow consensus All-American Alex Barron was taken 19th overall in the first round and offensive tackle Ray Willis was taken 105th in the 2005 NFL Draft. Also, the last time FSU had two offensive players taken in the first 55 picks was in 1997 when offensive tackle Walter Jones went sixth overall in the first round to the Seattle Seahawks and running back Warrick Dunn went 12th overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A four-year starter, Hudson capped off his career as the most decorated offensive lineman in Atlantic Coast Conference history. He earned unanimous first team All-American honors, the first by a Seminole since Alex Barron in 2004 and was one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy. He won his second consecutive Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the ACC's most dominant lineman and was just the second lineman in league history to be selected All-ACC four times and the first selected first team three times.
A nine-time ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week over the course of his career; more than any player at any position in conference history, he started all 14 games at left guard in 2010, pushing his career total to 48. He played 904 snaps and posted a team-leading grade of 88 percent and also led the team with 48 knockdown blocks. Hudson was penalized once (11 games ago) and tagged for only four missed assignments in 2010.
The lone Seminole lineman to not relinquish a sack in 2010, he earned ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week three times (BYU, Miami and Florida) and posted a career-high 10 knockdown blocks came in the win over BYU.
"He's one that's going to come to work everyday," Fisher said. "He's extremely smart and totally committed to playing football and has a passion to be great and to win and will do anything he has to do to be a great teammate. "
"I'm a hard-worker," Hudson said when asked what type of player the Chiefs are getting, "A guy that's going to be there for the team, team-first and is going to come in, compete and work hard to help win games."
More Biographical Information on Hudson from 2010:
Posted his highest grade - 97 percent - in the ACC Championship game against Virginia Tech...posted four grades of 90 percent or higher (BYU, Miami, Florida and Va Tech) on the season...earned a grade of 86 in his final game against South Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Bowl as the Seminoles rushed for 218 yards against the SEC's top-rated run defense …consensus preseason All-American and candidate for the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy...earned the Hinesman Award as the most dominant performer at the conclusion of spring practice and was also honored with the Matt Schmauch academic award.
Hudson on what he's going to take from Florida State and his coaches:
"Just everything - the way they taught us to practice and the way to go about things on and off the field. Those are the things that I'm going to take with me to the next level. I want to thank them again for the opportunity at FSU, Coach Fisher, Coach [Rick] Trickett and all the coaches for everything they did for me and my teammates."
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