Three Reasons Why Saints Fans Will Love Cesar Ruiz

The New Orleans Saints drafted center Erik McCoy last year with pick No. 48 in the second round. Because of that, not all Saints fans were jumping for joy when the team selected Cesar Ruiz with the 24th pick in the first round of this year's draft, especially with local product, LSU linebacker Patrick Queen, still on the board.

Those disgruntled fans might not love the pick right now, but I bet they will in short order, and here's why.

Ruiz Is Smart

Learning quickly on the football field is something that always came easy to Ruiz. He's been playing football since he was 10 years old and it's always been naturally easy for him. At Michigan, he jumped into the starting lineup as a guard as a freshman and then switched to center as a sophomore and never looked back. Ruiz is confident in his abilities and knows that he'll be able to adjust at the highest level as well.

"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," Ruiz explained. "Football is really natural to me and now it’s going to be even more natural because it’s just football. That’s just the main thing I’m doing right now. My football knowledge is becoming higher and higher and I’m becoming better and better at it. That’s one of my strengths. [The Saints] had me watch film and gave me calls and allowed me to take notes. It was basically as if it was my first day with the team and I was able to reiterate plays really easy. I think that’s one thing they are impressed with."

Ruiz Is Funny

Back when I wrote for TheWolverine.com, I outlined Ruiz as the funniest member of Michigan's 2017 class in my annual edition of "Signee Superlatives". He's always been billed as a goofy, funny guy, and we got to see a little bit of that on draft night. Obviously everyone is practicing social distancing, but that didn't keep Ruiz and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell from sharing a cool moment on TV.

"He told me to bring it in, because if I was there personally I would have given him a hug," Ruiz said of the moment with a huge smile. "He told me to bring it in and I gave him a hug virtually. It was me being me, showing my personality and my love for people.”

NFL centers don't talk to the media a lot, but whenever Ruiz is speaking into a microphone, he's going to make some people laugh.

Ruiz Is Passionate

Ruiz's passion shined through as soon as he was drafted. He was overwhelmed by emotions and had no issue with letting the tears flow. He plays that way too. He cares about what he does, he cares about his teammates and he wants to be great. He does it all for his father, who he he lost when he was a young boy, and because of that, is not going to stop short of being a terrific football player.

"I was just thinking about my dad," Ruiz said of draft night. "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 screen and they put a picture of my dad on the screen. He passed away when I was eight and his passing is the reason I played football. Every time I step on the field now, I dedicate it to my dad

"That's really where all of the emotion came from and a big part of it was also just the excitement and the relief.”

Oh, and he's a damn good football player. Pro Football Focus rated Ruiz as the most efficient center in all of college football last year. Ruiz didn't give up a sack during the entire 2019 campaign and impressed everyone with his ability to pull from the center position.

It's going to be really interesting to see where Ruiz plays because he's a rare athlete at center who can also play guard. Sean Payton said that Ruiz is a starter, so now it's just about finding out which position suits him best. Wherever it is, eventually Saints fans are going to love him just like Michigan fans did.