Bo Ruud (born September 2, 1984) 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 with ...

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, p ...

. He was drafted by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in the sixth round of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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 southwe ...

. Ruud has also been a member of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. He is the younger brother of NFL linebacker

Barrett Ruud Barrett James Ruud (born May 20, 1983) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft and also played for the Tennessee Titans, ...

, as well as the son of former NFL linebacker

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 Cornhusk ...

Early years

He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Lincoln Southeast High School Lincoln Southeast High School is a public government education school located in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln Public Schools school district. Lincoln Southeast High School has the highest accreditation from th ...

. Ruud was a standout at Lincoln Southeast, and was Nebraska's earliest ever commitment, pledging his intention in June 2001, 20 months before 2003 signing day. He had a standout prep career, helping the Knights to two Class A state titles. He was a two-way star, playing running back and linebacker. Ruud rushed for 1,385 yards and 15 touchdowns and caught four passes for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Ruud scored four touchdowns in a state semifinal win over Kearney and scored the Knights' only touchdown in a 7-6 title game victory over Millard North. He had 70 total tackles, including 51 solo stops, as a senior. Ruud was named the honorary captain of the Lincoln Journal Star's Super-State team and was a first-team pick as a running back. The Omaha World-Herald named him to its All-Nebraska team as a linebacker and made him the honorary captain on the defense. Ruud made 49 tackles as a junior, and rushed for nearly 450 yards and scored six touchdowns. Ruud also starred on Southeast's basketball team, which finished as the 2003 Class A state runner-up. He was a two-time honorable-mention all-state pick and earned academic all-state honors, and was a National Honor Society member.

College career

Ruud was a four-year letterman, finished his college career in 2007. He was a three-year starter. He totaled 216 career tackles rank 22nd on the Nebraska career chart and finished with six career fumbles caused, four fumble recoveries and five interceptions. Ruud lined up as the weakside linebacker for his first three years, before switching to the strongside spot as a senior. He played in and started 10 games and made 54 tackles, including 28 solo stops. He also added four tackles for loss and caused a pair of fumbles. Ruud started 13 games at weakside linebacker in 2006, and earned 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 fo ...

honors from the league coaches. He tied for fourth on the team with 65 tackles and made seven tackles for loss helping Nebraska rank among the Big 12 leaders in scoring defense and rushing defense. Ruud also had two sacks, two interceptions, a team-high three forced fumbles and also recovered a pair of fumbles. Ruud earned the starting job his sophomore season of 2005 and earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors. He made 80 tackles and tied for third on the team with 14 tackles for loss. In 2004, he was a redshirt freshman and he played in all 11 games and finished with 17 total tackles, including 12 solo stops. In 2003, he was a redshirt. A business administration major, Ruud was a two-time Second-team academic All-Big 12 selection and a four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. He was one of 20 Huskers to graduate in December, 2007.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Ruud was drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round (197th overall) of the

. He spent his rookie season on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. The Patriots waived Ruud on April 29, 2009.

Cleveland Browns

Ruud was claimed off waivers by the

on April 30, 2009. He was waived by the team on August 17.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ruud was signed 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) NFC South, South divisio ...

on August 24, 2009. The move reunited him with older brother, former college teammate and Buccaneers starting linebacker

. He was waived by the Buccaneers on September 5, 2009.

External links

Nebraska Cornhuskers bioNew England Patriots bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruud, Bo 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska American football linebackers Nebraska Cornhuskers football players New England Patriots players Cleveland Browns players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Florida Tuskers players