Former Michigan Wolverines football center Cesar Ruiz was only eight years old when he lost his father to a tragic accident. Cesar Sr. was helping a stranger change a tire when he was struck and killed by a car on the side of the road.
Ruiz Jr. turned to football two years later to help cope with the loss, and on Thursday night his journey continued with an emotional reaction to being picked 24th overall in the first round of the NFL Draft. The New Orleans Saints called his number with two minutes left in their pick, and Ruiz broke down in tears.
"My dad passed away when I was eight, and his passing is the reason I played football,” Ruiz explained during a conference call with reporters. “Every time I step on the field now, I dedicate it to my dad … I connect it with my dad because my dad passed away when I was eight. The main thing that helped me cope with that was football, and that's just what it was.
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“That's what I was thinking about … just my dad. I dedicate my whole journey and everything I do to him. The first picture I had in my head was my dad, and then I looked on the [TV] screen and they put a picture of my dad on the screen. That's really where all of the emotion came from, and a big part of it was also just the excitement and the relief."
The New Jersey native played at IMG Academy in Florida and has seen different parts of the world thanks to Michigan football, but he’s never been to New Orleans, he admitted. That’s about to change, the timetable to be determined by the Coronavirus.
Until then, Ruiz said, he plans to communicate with a lot of his new teammates and get to know people in the organization and work on staying in shape.
“They told me to get ready for a different kind of heat, so I'm doing really intense workouts,” Ruiz said.
His versatility was a big reason the Saints chose him, head coach Sean Payton said, and they were always hopeful Ruiz would be there at No. 24. Ruiz’ phone still hadn’t rung while the Saints’ time was winding down, so it came as an “unbelievable” shock when it did.
"I was just star struck at the moment at the moment, but it was the assistant GM (Jeff Ireland) and Coach Payton, and they basically just said, ‘hey look, we're excited,’” Ruiz recalled. “We're fired up, and we're going to take you with this selection right here. We're on the clock."
Ruiz played both guard and center at Michigan, and the Saints will try him out at both. Ruiz insists he’s willing to play wherever they ask.
“I can play any position along the interior. I have familiarity with everything — center, guard — so I can play everything across the interior offensive line, and that's where my versatility comes into place,” he said. “Whatever Coach (Payton) wants me to play, that's what I'm going to play.
"At guard you don't have to [be in charge of everything]. When I played guard, I wasn't really conducting the show because I'm on a different side of the line than everybody else, so I'm not telling everybody what to do. To me guard is like basically similar to playing center without snapping the ball.”
But he loves center, he added, and that’s where he excelled at Michigan.
"I love being in charge of the show,” he admitted.
Especially if it means snapping to a future Hall of Famer in quarterback Drew Brees.
"When I think of the Saints, the first thing I think of, the first person I think of is Drew Brees,” he said. “That's the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the Saints, and really just a traditional team. A team that traditionally wins and is a very respected franchise.
“I can play in any kind of offensive scheme that a team needs me to play in, and really that's just where I have an advantage. I've played in so many different offenses. I've seen how the Saints play, a versatile offense. I'm a versatile player. I fit perfectly."
He’ll get his chance to prove it in the months ahead.
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