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Florida State wide receiver Travis Rudolph, a 2017 NFL Draft hopeful, received tragic news when his father was killed in an accidental shooting. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Monday that Darryl Rudolph, 55, was shot Friday morning while working on repairs inside a nightclub in West Palm Beach, Fla.
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The sheriff's office said Rudolph was hit in the neck/back area when a gun in an adjacent room went off accidentally. He later died after being transported to a local hospital.
Travis Rudolph, who spent three seasons at FSU, hopes to be selected in this year's draft, which will be held Thursday through Saturday in Philadelphia. He is projected to go in the sixth or seventh round as the 30th-ranked wide receiver and No. 223 overall by NFLDraftScout.com.
Rudolph starred at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach. He finished his college career with the Seminoles as a top 10 receiver in team history, with 153 receptions (seventh) and 2,311 yards receiving (eighth). He also scored 18 career touchdowns, tied for 13th on FSU's all-time list.
Travis Rudolph made national headlines last season at Florida State for his actions off the field after a photo of him having lunch with an autistic boy went viral on social media. Rudolph developed a close friendship throughout the season with the boy, Bo Paske, a Tallahassee middle school student who was sitting by himself during lunch on a school day.
Darryl Rudolph, who was a youth coach in the South Florida area, told ESPN at the time he was "overwhelmed with joy" when he learned what his son had done for the boy.
"When I used to coach and help other kids with football, basketball and sports, Travis was small but he used to pay attention to what I was doing," Darryl Rudolph said in an interview with ESPN last September. "I told them get your education. You can be the best athlete in the world, but without an education, you're not going very far. That's what Travis followed through on."
