Hoosiers Looking at Tulsa Commit Jace Ruder to Boost QB Recruiting

Jace Ruder (12) would take an official to IU if given the opportunity. Image: Everett Royer, KSportsimages.com

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson brought the Hoosier football program back to respectability during his six seasons in Bloomington, however he did leave the Hoosiers short handed at quarterback for the future. Yes, IU has Austin King and Peyton Ramsey on the roster and Tom Allen hopes to have pulled a rabbit out of his hat with 2017 signee Nick Tronti. Seems like enough talent, right? Like pitching in baseball, one can never have too much talent on the quarterback depth chart and the new offensive staff is setting out to correct that. New quarterback coach Nick Sheridan reached out to three-star QB and Tulsa commit Jace Ruder to try and lure him to IU.

"Coach Sheridan reached out to me a few weeks ago and went ahead and offered pretty quickly. They were pretty confident in me right off the bat." Ruder said, "since then, I’ve gotten to know some of the coaching staff. I’ve talked to almost all of them on the phone. Coach Sheridan is the one recruiting me for the most part. Coach Allen, they’re great. They’re great guys. I’m committed to Tulsa, but I believe it’s my duty to at least do research on a school that has gone out of their way to offer me a scholarship to play for them, so that’s what I’m doing. I know the coaching staff is very solid in their faith, that’s one thing they take pride in, and as well as what they do on campus and on the football field."

Ruder is the top player in Kansas and is listed as a dual-threat QB, but he classifies himself in his own category. “It’s kind of a tough category to put me in. A lot of people say I’m a dual-threat and some people say I’m a pro-style because I have a big arm, but I also run a 4.45 40, so put me in whatever category you want to put me in, but it doesn’t really matter to me what I’m in, I just know wherever I’m going I just have to play my game and not be anyone else."

When asked to compare himself to an NFL player he did not shy away from dropping some big-time names. “I’m not 100% sure who I would compare myself to. When I was younger, I wanted to compare myself to Cam Newton just because he was Cam. Big, fast, big arm. Gameplay, I would say I play a lot like Cam Newton, but at the same time, I want to play like Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady."

Ruder is from Norton, Kansas which, according to Ruder, is about four hours from any major airport and that will make his traveling for unofficial visits difficult at best, but he would "definitely as of now consider taking an official to Indiana when officials are opened up for my class." Currently, he has no timeline for his recruitment and is looking forward to "improving my gameplay even more than I have the past couple years. There’s always room for improvement in everything I’m doing, so just playing at a higher level than I ever have before, and to help prepare me for what Division 1 football is going to bring."

Ruder holds offers from Bowling Green, Emporia State, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Ohio, Toledo and Tulsa.