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Nick Ruffin


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cbssports.com
 

Nick Ruffin taking advantage of every remaining moment at Auburn

Evan McCullers
 

AUBURN, Ala. — There was a time when Nick Ruffin didn’t fully appreciate being at Auburn. Through injuries and variations in his playing time over his first three seasons, Ruffin at times lost sight of reality — that he was on scholarship and playing football at a level few players ever get to.

His wake-up call came when he sat down for the first position meeting this spring.

“When you walk into your team meetings and you’re sitting on the front row and coach says, ‘Hey, you guys are now the seniors,’ was definitely my ‘wow’ moment, because I still remember sitting at the very back of the room saying, ‘Hey, you guys are the freshmen,’” Ruffin said. “So when I sat down in that front row and I was like, ‘Oh wow, this is really it,’ is when I kind of woke up.”

Ruffin’s one and only goal now is to take full advantage of his last few months with the Tigers.

He hopes to be trying out for NFL teams at this time next year, but his immediate focus is on making his final season at Auburn a productive one.

The process of making that goal a reality began on the first day of spring practice and continued through Spring Break when, instead of heading to the beach or on vacation, Ruffin returned home and spent the week training with former Auburn running back Brad Lester at his Atlanta-area facility.

“My brother used to always say he can rest when he’s dead,” Ruffin said. “I’m here right now. I don’t have much time left to improve. I’m going into my senior season, and my rest will happen when I decide to stop playing football.”

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Ruffin, who recorded 32 tackles last season despite missing three games with injuries, is one of four senior safeties competing for time this spring. Simply being back on the field and close to full speed, Ruffin says, has been a blessing.

“It’s been really fun,” Ruffin said. “Through the injuries and through the frustrations, being back out on the field with my teammates, my coaches, hearing the whistles, being in Jordan-Hare has been just an amazing thing for me, just being out there. Knowing that this is my last go-around, I’ve been just enjoying it.”

Next Saturday, Ruffin will take the field for his final A-Day. It will be one of many lasts for the Atlanta native, who now fully appreciates every moment he has left at Auburn.

“Anything I can do to better myself mentally, physically, emotionally even spiritually, I’m more than willing to do it,” Ruffin said. “Most importantly, just have fun. Not everybody is blessed with the opportunity to come and play, especially here at Auburn. I’m just blessed to be here and I think for a while I kind of got away from that and I’m learning now just to enjoy it, enjoy the process, enjoy the daily grind, the practices, the workouts, because it’s not forever. It’s definitely, it’s ending soon.”

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  • WarTiger changed the title to Nick Ruffin




We're definitely gonna need great production from him at the safety spot and for him to stay injury free...we really had kam martin taking snaps at safety..

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