K Ruiz Declares for NFL Draft

Mississippi State kicker Brandon Ruiz declared for the NFL Draft following the team's 34-7 loss to Texas Tech in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Tuesday.

Ruiz took a winding path to end up with the Bulldogs, but he helped the program tremendously during his time in maroon and white. The redshirt senior began his career at Arizona State before joining MSU as a graduate transfer. During his time with the Sun Devils, Ruiz started both the 2017 and 2018 seasons before missing the entirety of 2019 with an injury. He was responsible for all placekicks and kickoff during his two seasons of action and was among the best kickers in the Pac-12 Conference.

As a true freshman in 2017, Ruiz led his team in scoring with 106 points. After starting the season 2-3 on extra points, he made the next 47 straight to finish the year with a 98 percent conversion percentage. Ruiz also converted 19 of his 27 field goal attempts, with five of the misses coming from 45 yards or farther. Two of his makes were each from 52 yards out-- an Arizona State freshman record in yardage. As for kickoffs, Ruiz averaged 63.4 yards per kick and had 52 touchbacks on 75 attempts.

Ruiz had quite the freshman season but was still able to improve as a sophomore. He was a perfect 45-of-45 on extra-point attempts and converted 18-of-22 field goals. Ruiz's .818 field goal percentage ranked second in the Pac-12 and No. 21 in the nation. As well as being a scoring machine, Ruiz continued to dominate on kickoffs and averaged 61.5 yards on 78 total kicks. He finished his time with the Sun Devils with 205 points scored.

When he joined the Bulldogs in 2020, Ruiz was one of 27 student-athletes to make their college football debut during the modified season. In 10 games played, Ruiz made 10 of his 12 field-goal attempts and all of his 24 extra-point attempts. His 14 points scored against LSU in the opening game of the season are ranked No. 4 on MSU's single-game kicking points list. He totaled 2,792 yards in his 43 kickoffs-- 37 of which went for touchbacks.

The 2021 season was difficult for Ruiz, as he was sidelined with an injury for the second time in his college career. He played in the first game of the season against Louisiana Tech before being injured during the Week Two game against NC State on Sept. 11. Ruiz was able to return on Oct. 16 against Alabama and played in the next three games, but it was obvious that he had was still having complications from his injury. After missing two easy field goals against Arkansas, he was pulled in favor of Nolan McCord and was unable to play for the rest of the season. Despite the struggles he faced regarding his injury, Ruiz finished a perfect 19-of-19 on extra-point attempts and 5-of-9 on field goals.

As his college career comes to a close, Ruiz has plenty to be proud of. He finished his time as an NCAA athlete with a 77 percent conversion on 47-of-61 field goals made. He has made a whopping 111 consecutive extra points and holds a handful of conference awards and accolades. Although his time as a Bulldog may have been cut short due to injury, Ruiz will have a bright future as long as he remains healthy and continues to improve.

Putting it in God’s hands pic.twitter.com/uq1PTIDp20
— Brandon Ruiz (@BrandonRRuiz) December 30, 2021