Exit Cesar Ruiz
Cesar Ruiz declaring for the NFL draft
https://twitter.com/_OverCees/status/1213205426877190144?s=20
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:17 PM ^
Well, damn.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:47 PM ^
My thoughts too. Maybe we'll take a page out of OSU's book and pursue a grad transfer from within the conference (come on down Terrance Davis). Not that I don't have faith in the recruits on the OL, but may be a season too soon for a lot of them to hold up, so a one season stop-gap would make sense.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:17 PM ^
No brainer for a great player like Ruiz.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:39 PM ^
I fear this isn’t going to be the case. I think he has the potential to be a very good pro but he could have used another year. It’s a pretty deep class for offensive lineman and he could have made himself some big bucks by staying the extra year. Hell, Leatherwood is coming back to Alabama and he’s significantly better than every offensive lineman on our roster.
I hope I’m wrong but outside of Devin Bush we’ve seen a track record of guys going a year too soon for the draft and it’s shown in their draft position, earnings and ultimately their play at the next level.
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:00 PM ^
Agreed. Our 4 and 5* guys come don't perform at an elite level in college but have a lot of the measurables and potential that the NFL is looking for.
Unfortunately, their time on task and in the facilities is probably 60-70% that of the football factories, and it shows once they enter the league.
January 3rd, 2020 at 6:05 PM ^
^This a million times
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:19 PM ^
At least one more OL departure....portal.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:48 PM ^
Filliaga?
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:49 PM ^
Lmao is this going to be umbig11's screen name going forward?
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:51 PM ^
LOL. I can’t tell if he forgot to switch again or he decided to just own it
January 3rd, 2020 at 6:32 PM ^
I don’t know either but I think he’s owning it
January 3rd, 2020 at 6:32 PM ^
He'll come back when points are working.
January 3rd, 2020 at 10:22 PM ^
Hopefully you’ll be in the portal shortly after.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:19 PM ^
It would be cool if Ambry stays one more season.
Vastardis at Center next season?
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:02 PM ^
Who is Vastardis? I never heard of the guy
January 3rd, 2020 at 7:18 PM ^
That explains a lot.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:20 PM ^
He will make us all proud at the next level.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:21 PM ^
Well it was nice to have a good o line for one year at least
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:29 PM ^
Isn’t the OL one area where M has recruited well over the last 2-3 years?
2018: Mayfield, Hayes
2019: Jones, Rumler, Keegan, Barnhart, (Carpenter, Stewart)
2020: Zinter, Persi, Mazzccua [Committed] (Atteberry)
almost all of them ranked 4-stars through the sites... OL should be the least of the problems moving forward.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:35 PM ^
And we have a proven guy coaching this position
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:49 PM ^
While this is true, offensive linemen usually aren't ready as redshirt or true freshmen. I think it will be figured out at some point in the season, this just increases the growing pains that would already have been had with the transition. But who knows, trust in Warriner.
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:19 PM ^
6 of [the 4-star guys] will be SO or JR level players (depending on redshirts), not to mention if Filliaga stays or not. And of the 6 mentioned, 2 are already starter quality and 4-5 have playing time under their belt (if I remembered correctly). Time will tell, and we’ll see how Spring/Summer/Fall goes and let it play from there.
I think 2020 will be a better year than 2018 & 2019, maybe on Par with 2016. One can only hope at this point.
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:54 PM ^
Osu just did it this year. Elite guys don’t stay 4 years very frequently.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:22 PM ^
Does anyone know what his grade would be? Did he already receive a 2nd round or higher grade? Pumped for him, just didn’t think it would be this soon on his decision... I assumed a WR would have declared before him.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:39 PM ^
I don't know what his grade would be, but how many 320 lb centers are there who move like Ruiz does? Plus, it probably has as much to do with Ruiz as anything else as to why the line could suddenly pass protect when he moved to Center.
320 lbs, agile as Jerry Ball, smart enough to make all the right line calls, that's money. If he's there at the beginning of the 2nd round and I'm the Lions, I'm taking him.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:59 PM ^
For Cesar's sake, let's hope that doesn't happen.
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:21 PM ^
Lions already have an excellent center in Ragnow.
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:27 PM ^
Sorry, forgot about him, I was thinking Glasgow was still playing the spot, but that was 2 years ago.
January 4th, 2020 at 5:49 AM ^
True, but Ragnow played guard in his rookie season, and Ruiz has also played it. If the Lions aren't planning to re-sign Glasgow, this pick would give you flexibility, especially in the case of injury.
January 4th, 2020 at 6:55 AM ^
"how many 320 lb centers are there who move like Ruiz does? "
3 or 4 in this draft.
...and the #1 (Biadasz) is likely an early 2nd rounder.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:22 PM ^
Maybe this will convince Spanellis to stay. One can hope.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:24 PM ^
presumably spanellis' decision was independent of ruiz's decision otherwise spanellis would've waited.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:22 PM ^
More and more poop. Good luck in the nfl you will be missed!
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:22 PM ^
Balls.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:23 PM ^
Bummer.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:23 PM ^
This has been a rough offseason so far.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:46 PM ^
Do not worry. False optimism will start to spring up around June. And by December, we will all be sad again.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:51 PM ^
I'm not sure why you are even a fan with that sort of take.
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:48 PM ^
My comment was not a take. It's. um... what happens?
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:15 PM ^
When they said seasonal depression, I had no idea they meant football season.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:23 PM ^
Opening on the road in Seattle with basically an entirely new Oline....is not ideal.
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:06 PM ^
Hey, not entirely new, Mayfield is returning... Because he can't go pro yet. Otherwise he probably would just because.
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:06 PM ^
Hey, not entirely new, Mayfield is returning... Because he can't go pro yet. Otherwise he probably would just because.
January 3rd, 2020 at 6:52 PM ^
Against a team with a new coach, a new and totally unproven QB, and a ton of freshmen? I’ll take it.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:26 PM ^
Render unto Caesar anywhere from a first to fifth around draft pick depending on who you believe
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:27 PM ^
So whose our center Rumler or Carpenter or...
January 3rd, 2020 at 5:47 PM ^
I’m betting Rumler. No inside information or anything, just an uneducated guess.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:28 PM ^
Best of luck to Cesar, he is kind of rolling the dice a little. His projections are all over the place some have him in the first couple rounds, others have him all the way down in the middle rounds. Depends on if a team wants to mainly draft him early on potential, cause his level of play was not where we expected it to be for most of the season.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:29 PM ^
A year ago we had no tackles and a ton of interior guys... now we have nothing but tackles. I’m confused. I hope last years class is ready. Hayes, Steuber, Rumler, Filiaga, Mayfield next years line?