Barrett James Ruud (born May 20, 1983) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

in the second round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

and also played for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and Houston Texans. He played college football at

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, where he currently serves as the inside linebackers coach.

Early years

Ruud attended high school at Lincoln Southeast High School in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. He was a four-year letterman and helped his team compile a 48–2 record and Class A state titles in 1998, 1999, and 2001. He was a two-time All-American by the

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...

and earned All-American honors as a linebacker from Prep Star and Student Sport. He also was a two-time super-state pick and was named offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year and prep athlete of the year by the

Lincoln Journal Star The ''Lincoln Journal Star'' is an American daily newspaper that serves Lincoln, Nebraska, the state capital and home of the University of Nebraska. It is the most widely read newspaper in Lincoln and has the second-largest circulation in N ...

College career

Ruud played college football at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. He earned numerous honors while there including 2004 Third-team All American, 2004 First-team All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

, 2003 Second-team All-Big 12, and 2002 All-Big 12 honorable mention among others. He finished his career starting 37 of 50 games finishing with a school record 432 career

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ruud was drafted by the

in the second round of the

. As a rookie, he played in all 16 games recording 17 tackles. In 2006, he started 5 of 16 games after injuries to Shelton Quarles and

Ryan Nece Ryan Clint Nece (born February 24, 1979) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at UCLA. Nece ...

and finished with 57 tackles. In 2007 Ruud became a full-time starter after the team cut longtime starter Quarles. He finished the season starting all 15 games he played in, recording 114 tackles and two interceptions. He remained the Buccaneers starter through 2008 and ended the season totaling 137 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions.

Tennessee Titans

On July 30, 2011, Ruud signed with the

. On December 13, 2011, Ruud was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

Seattle Seahawks

In April 2012, Ruud signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

New Orleans Saints

On August 20, 2012, Ruud was traded to the

in exchange for a conditional draft pick. On October 8, 2012, Ruud was cut by the Saints after the team went through a 1-4 start.

Houston Texans

On October 10, 2012 Ruud was signed by the Houston Texans, to provide depth at linebacker after the injury to defensive star

Brian Cushing Brian Patrick Cushing (born January 24, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft and played his entire 9-year career for the ...

NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed

Personal life

Ruud's father,

Tom Ruud Thomas Robert Ruud (born July 26, 1953, in Olivia, Minnesota) is a former professional football player, a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL. At 6'3" 223 lb, he played college football for the Nebraska Cornhus ...

, played for the Cornhuskers in the early 1970s and later in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. His younger brother Bo also attended Nebraska. His mother Jaime Ruud died of a massive heart attack on June 30, 2006 while vacationing with family in northern Minnesota.Mother of Husker players passes away
/ref> Barrett hosts an annual summer football camp at

Warner University Warner University is a private Christian university in Lake Wales, Florida. It is affiliated with the Church of God. History Warner Southern College was founded in 1968 by the Southeastern Association of the Church of God in Anderson, Ind ...

for children ages 7–18.

References

External links

Nebraska profile

Seattle Seahawks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruud, Barrett 1983 births Living people American football linebackers Houston Texans players Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players New Orleans Saints players Seattle Seahawks players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Titans players UCF Knights football coaches Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska