The end of the line for Notre Dame guard Trevor Ruhland feels more like a new beginning
By Eric Hansen South Bend Tribune
“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” — Anonymous
SOUTH BEND — That Trevor Ruhland has more scar tissue by far than pro scouts tracking him in the final weeks of his college football career sounds like the beginnings of a broken dream.
In reality, it’s quite the contrary.
The biggest quandary this week for the grad senior Notre Dame offensive guard, as Ruhland sees it, is scrounging up enough tickets for everyone from Cary, Ill., who want to share in his final home game Saturday, when the AP No. 15 Irish (8-2) take on Boston College (5-5).
Broadcast time is 2:30 p.m. (EST). Per usual, NBC has the telecast, but per unusual NBC Sports Network has an alternate stream featuring radio voices Paul Burmeister and Ryan Harris, and a discussion panel that includes injured ND senior defensive end Daelin Hayes and former Irish running back Darius Walker among others.
Ruhland’s second-biggest quandary might be explaining why Irish left tackle Liam Eichenberg, in an interview, identified the 6-foot-4, 292-pounder as his “celebrity crush.”
“It’s a weird feeling,” Ruhland said with a wide grin. “I mean, you could look at me now, look at how I look with my long hair and beard and say, ‘Oh he doesn’t look very good.’ But if you haven’t seen Liam recently, he looks really bad.
“He’s got a bald head and a beard.”
Eichenberg, however, doesn’t have a medical history that includes a broken elbow, muscle tears in both pecs, a torn labrum, a broken nose, a broken ankle and three surgeries on his left knee, as Ruhland does.
The left knee is what kept him from ascending to the starting center position last spring after training and waiting for that moment for the healthy parts of his four years. It’s also what nearly landed him on the medical retirement list over the summer.
“They (the ND medical and training staff) say I have the knee of an 80-year-old and they want me to get it replaced after the season,” Ruhland said.
“It’s completely done. I don’t know all the medical terms for all of it. That’s not what I studied here. It’s pretty bad, but I do everything can for it. I keep sleeves on it. I get treatment on it all day and I have the best medical staff. They get me by.”
In the past four weeks, it hasn’t been about just getting by. Ruhland took over for starting right guard Tommy Kraemer in the 45-14 loss at Michigan on Oct. 26, with junior reserve Josh Lugg joining him as a starter on the right side a week later when starting right tackle Robert Hainsey went down.
Kraemer (MCL sprain in his left knee), an AP midseason All-American, might return before the end of the season. Hainsey, who suffered a fractured left ankle, isn’t expected to be 100 percent until next summer.
“I know me and Lugg would take away all our playing time to have them healthy,” Ruhland said.
And therein lies Ruhland’s legacy — and yes he has a legacy, and a powerful one at that.
He’s a man who lives life without the what-ifs, even though he’s been given ample opportunity to do so.
As a senior at Cary-Grove High School, Ruhland envisioned being offered a scholarship from the University of Iowa, where his mom Lori had gone to school and where father Matt was an All-Big Ten defensive lineman, and gladly signing with the Hawkeyes.
The offer never came.
Former Irish line coach Harry Hiestand, though, was sold on the three-star prospect and coaxed him into an O-Line class with more touted prospects Jerry Tillery and Tristen Hoge. Tillery, however, flipped to defense before he signed and evolved into an All-American and first-round NFL Draft pick.
And Hoge transferred to BYU after his sophomore season after he was beaten out for the starting center job by Sam Mustipher.
Ruhland persevered time and again whenever his path seemed blocked or ending. Those around him noticed, took inspiration from it, became better for it.
“He loves to play and he loves being with his teammates,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. “There is a connection there that has kept him persevering through all the injuries. I think others would've probably moved on.
“I think what has separated him from some other players that I've had that have had multiple setbacks is his personality. You guys have gotten a chance to see a little bit of that this year. The players have such a tight relationship with him that he did not want to give that up.”
His parents bought in, each with their own spin on the situation.
“My mom thinks I’m crazy. My dad thinks I’m soft.” Ruhland said with a chuckle. “But they’re great. They always support me no matter what. They just want me to be having fun with what I do.”
And Ruhland is having the time of his life, and on his own terms.
When Ruhland took over for Kraemer, Kelly suggested there’d be a “pitch count” to limit Ruhland’s in-game snaps and subsequently the pain that would follow. So in Ruhland’s first start of the season, the 21-20 comeback victory over Virginia Tech on Nov. 2, the Irish ran a season-high 91 offensive plays.
And Ruhland was on the field for every single one of them.
“I hope I’m remembered for a guy who cares more about the team than myself.” he said. “You’ll always need the team more than the team needs you. And that’s something I’ve realized, how much I’ve reached out to teammates and they’ve helped me through hard times.
“I couldn’t imagine not going through some of the stuff I’ve gone through. I keep it in perspective. There are people who have it a lot worse than I do. I think (the relentless adversity) has made me better. It’s made me stronger mentally and it’s given me more time to work on other things.
“Yeah, I might not be able to run people off the ball like I used to be able to, but I’m smarter as a football player. I think better. I’m quicker. I feel like I’ve worked on certain things that have helped me get by, scrape by.
And dream big.
“I would love to coach,” he said. “I think I’d be good at coaching. I love working with kids. I can see myself being a teacher too.
“Their hours are crazy, but I think it would be so rewarding to helping young men get to where they want to go.”
ehansen@sbtinfo.com
Twitter: @EHansenNDI
