Top Interior OL in NFL Draft: Cesar Ruiz

Michigan center Cesar Ruiz, who plays for his father, ranks No. 1 among this year’s interior offensive line prospects.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Apr 12, 2020 9:25 PM EDT

Michigan center Cesar Ruiz ranks No. 1 among this year’s interior offensive line prospects.

When Cesar Ruiz was 8, his father died when he was struck by a car while changing a stranger’s tire on the side of a road. His mom considered taking Ruiz to counseling to help with the grieving. Instead, she signed him up for football.

“Football came into my life when I was 10 years old,” Ruiz said at the Scouting Combine. “I really played because my mom wanted me to get out of the house. It was kind of a therapeutic thing for me, one of her things, because I was still mourning the death of my father. And she saw it. Basically what she did was try to find something that would help me out.”

Ruiz found more than a distraction. He found a new passion – a passion that’s carried him to the brink of the NFL as arguably the best center in the 2020 NFL Draft.

“This whole entire experience is dedicated to that whole situation, that tragedy,” Ruiz said. “I still do it every night. Every day, I think about it. If my dad was here to see what I'm doing right now, he would be mind-blown. So, I'm still playing for my dad. I still play through my dad, my dad still lives through me, and that's how it's always going to be.”

At Michigan, Ruiz (6-foot-2 3/4, 307 pounds; 33 1/8-inch arms) started a handful of games at right guard as a freshman and was an all-Big Ten center in 2018 and 2019. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed no sacks and nine total pressures during his final season. He allowed a pressure rate of 1.8 percent, which ranked fifth of our top eight center candidates. He cut 20 pounds before his final season to get ready for Michigan’s up-tempo attack and the results were evident in his performance.

“I'll tell you this: When you eat healthy, you don't want to eat fast food or anything like that anymore,” Ruiz said. “It's like fast food is like vegetables. You don't want it, you just want vegetables.”

In the running game, he thrived in the Wolverines’ zone-blocking scheme. His zone skills showed up at the Scouting Combine with strong results in the 40 (5.08 seconds), 20-yard shuttle (4.64 seconds) and bench press (28 reps). Taken in their totality, he had the best Combine of any center to solidify has draft status.

“Man, I don't even know. He would probably be somewhere smiling at me the same way I'm smiling at him just telling me how proud he is of me,” Ruiz said. “I know my mom is proud of me, so I'm proud of myself. I know my father would be extremely proud of me.”

What we like

Ruiz isn’t a finished product but he won’t turn 21 until June. Center is about intelligence, athleticism and leadership, traits Ruiz has in spades. Not only was he the fastest center at the Scouting Combine but his 10-yard time, which shows initial quickness, also was the fastest. He’s more than just a zone-scheme center, which will give him universal appeal. With athleticism and improving strength, he’s got a chance to be dominant. If there’s one interior lineman who could go in the first round, it’s Ruiz.

What we don’t like

Other than the lack of a killer instinct, Ruiz is the total package. Sure, he could use more polish and power, but that goes for everyone.