An unlikely friendship between Florida State wide receiver Travis Rudolph and sixth-grader Bo Paske has blossomed into one of the feel-good stories of the early college football season.
On Monday, the Seminoles surprised Paske with a personalized jersey presented by his new favorite player.
Best. Day. Ever.@TravisRudolph5 surprised Bo Paske with a personalized jersey this morning! pic.twitter.com/79diMkZhtl
— FSU Football (@FSU_Football) September 5, 2016
Things started innocently enough just about a week ago when Rudolph and some teammates opted to visit to Montford Middle School in Tallahassee. During lunch, Rudolph asked if he could sit down with Paske, to which the middle-schooler replied: "Sure, why not?"
The mother of the student posted this image on Facebook of her son and Travis Rudolph sharing lunch.
Even though Paske did not know who Rudolph was right away, what ensued was just a "great conversation," Rudolph said in an interview with FSU Athletics.
MORE: FSU WR eats lunch with autistic student | Bo Paske: 'most popular kid in the room’
“I didn’t even know he had Autism,” Rudolph told FSU Athletics.
In a separate interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, Rudolph said older players made a huge impact on his life by talking to him when he was younger. Consequently, he said he would like to be able to impact people in the same way.
“I feel like one person can make a difference, and maybe, I’m that difference," Rudolph said. "So, I feel like why not go help out."
Bo Paske, the newest friend of FSU wide receiver Travis Rudolph, got a jersey from the team on Monday.
Paske and his mom also received tickets from the team to tonight's Ole Miss-FSU game in Orlando.
