Notre Dame football adds commitment from OL recruit Trevor Ruhland
Notre Dame added a little nasty to its 2015 football recruiting class.
It’s the word that seems to follow around offensive lineman Trevor Ruhland, who offered his verbal commitment to Notre Dame on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound junior at Cary-Grove High in Cary, Ill., became the third offensive lineman to pledge to Notre Dame’s 2015 class.
“What a day,” Ruhland wrote on Twitter. “It was a tough one but I made the best decision of my life. Im going to be joining the Notre Dame family! Go Irish.”
The nastiness comes on the football field and is apparent on film. He plays through the whistle and is often seen driving his player well beyond the line of scrimmage.
“You're probably not going to see a guy that's finishing blocks much better,” said Cary-Grove head coach Brad Seaburg. “He's a real physical, nasty player."
Just a three-star prospect, Ruhland has remained under the radar with most schools and even some recruiting services. He received an offer from Notre Dame on an April 5 visit to South Bend. Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand identified Ruhland as a coveted player in the class to join four-star prospects Jerry Tillery and Tristen Hoge on the offensive line.
“He's a nasty, tenacious player that brings some versatility and flexibility to what is a deep Notre Dame offensive line,” said 247Sports national writer Steve Wiltfong. “There's going to be some great competition for the opportunity to play over the next couple years. Trevor Ruhland is another guy that will be able to hold his own.”
247Sports slates Ruhland as the No. 14 prospect in Illinois and the No. 46 offensive guard in the class. Rivals ranks him as the No. 35 offensive tackle and No. 4 in the state. His offer list reflects his star rating with California, Duke, Kentucky and Northwestern included. His stock was likely to rise this spring, said Wiltfong, and stayed low because he stayed off the national camp circuit.
“While Jerry Tillery and Tristen Hoge have been dominant against top competition at various events, Trevor Ruhland is a little more of an unknown as far as going out and competing on a national stage,” Wiltfong said. “But you turn on the tape and you see a tenacious, athletic, hard-working offensive lineman.”
The Irish made sure not to miss on Ruhland, the son of former Iowa defensive lineman Matt Ruhland, who earned all-Big Ten honors in 1990. Hiestand remained in regular contact with Seaburg and even visited Cary-Grove on Wednesday.
“They've done a really good job,” Seaburg said. “They've been very up front, very honest with us. They went out of their way to keep us in the loop as far as where they were with Trevor and the decision-making process on their end.”
Notre Dame welcomed Ruhland as the seventh committed member of the 2015 class that ranks No. 9 in the country according to Rivals and No. 16 by 247Sports. With three spots taken on the offensive line, the Irish appear to be done recruiting the position.
“If all three of those guys sign in February, I think Notre Dame is done at the offensive line position in this class,” Wiltfong said. “It's another strong group that's going to come in and push the older guys and make for some great competition and practice for what is the most important position on the field, along with the defensive line."
