[Josh Pruitt]
If you read last week’s roundtable and you’re anything like me, you’ve spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about different line combinations and wondering who might be able to slide where and which guys are most ready to see the field right now. That’s where Youtube comes in.
Cesar Ruiz is purported to be one of the more college-ready linemen in the 2017 class, which is something of an OL luxury for Michigan if that does end up panning out. Ruiz earning the starting nod at center would allow them to move Mason Cole out to tackle if need be; yes, that’s putting the cart before the horse, but you wouldn’t be reading this site if you weren’t a cart-before-horse-putter now and then. Thankfully, Ruiz went to IMG Academy. IMG has a number of games on the youtubes, and a week without hockey to GBGA presents a perfect opportunity to take an every-snap look at the nation’s composite best overall center.
I couldn’t find a full game where Ruiz was lined up across from a DI nose tackle, but the Cetennial game cut-up below does feature a two-star 3-4 DE in BYU commit Seleti Fevaleaki. On top of that, the game itself was incredible. It was a true shootout, with the teams practically trading touchdowns and extra points until there were just 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter. IMG converted on 3rd-and-16 with a 38-yard heave into the end zone; they then decided to go for the two-point conversion (and likely win). They converted, Centennial’s Hail Marys fell short, and IMG held on in a fashion befitting the teams that would end the season ranked third (IMG) and eighth (Centennial) nationally in USA Today’s HS poll.
[Hit THE JUMP for the scouting report]
The play that starts around 00:07 is as good a place to start as any. Ruiz explodes and helps chip the nose; once that guy’s parallel to the line of scrimmage, he works to the second level and finds the MLB. Ruiz gets his hands into the linebacker while the LB isn’t squared up, which results in the ‘backer getting completely turned around, taken off his feet, and deposited 10 yards downfield. His blocks are powerful and driven by a very strong lower body; there are times (00:45, for instance) where he buries his guy and it’s not because of his punch. His punch, though, is usually well timed and effective when he does use it.
Ruiz is surprisingly light on his feet for a guy as big (310 pounds) as he is. He does an excellent job quickly sliding one gap over; his power step and slide steps are efficient, and he seemingly always keeps a solid base. As mentioned above, he’s also great at quickly getting to the second level. He does a good job avoiding false steps; you won’t see him take the kind of extra half step that creates a soft shoulder, the kind which a rushing defensive lineman could use to their advantage.
On the whole, his football IQ seems very high. He picked up twists and knew his assignment; if it involved defensive linemen, he could diagnose and counter it. At 1:53, he picked up the rusher late but recovered and directed him toward help. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was able to quickly pick up line calls, unfamiliar though they may be. (It looked to me like IMG’s quarterback was checking with the sideline for audibles from the coaching staff and then calling them in with hand signals.)
As with any young player, there are areas Ruiz could improve. He got his hands outside at times (4:09, for example). Admittedly, that happened infrequently enough to be considered nitpicking and by no means something that I think will plague him at the next level. The one area that I do think he’ll really need to shore up if he’s to start is pass protection. The play at 6:25 is one of two times he gave up a sack; in this instance, he thought the LB was in zone and went to help the guard and didn’t see the LB blitz late. The other (at 8:08) is almost identical. It seems he sometimes has an issue identifying the blitzer in pass pro.
If he is going to play early, however, it’ll be because of plays like the ones from 8:10 on. On the last two plays of game he buries his man, made even more impressive considering one of the plays was a pass on which Ruiz had to reset after the defender spun off of him. His biggest strength, though, is clearly run blocking, where he’s a technically-sound road grader to the point where I could see him coping with Big Ten linemen in year one before developing into a big plus on a young line from year two on.