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Ruud Eager To Build Own Legacy

By ROY CUMMINGS The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 18, 2007

TAMPA - The body of work doesn't tell you much. It includes five starts over two years but is made up mostly of drips and drabs of playing time. You know, a play here and a play there.

What Barrett Ruud seems to remember most about a lot of those plays is the part in which he found himself looking back over his shoulder - not for a ball carrier or pass catcher, but for teammate Shelton Quarles.

"Every time I'd go in for him, it wasn't like 'OK, Q's done.' It was like, 'When's he coming back in?' Shelton would go out [limping], and five plays later he was back in there," Ruud said.

"I just always knew that he was coming back in sooner or later, and that was kind of tough because I was always kind of looking back over my shoulder for him, wondering when he's coming back."

Quarles isn't coming back anymore. The Bucs' former starting middle linebacker was released late last month, so the only thing Ruud sees when he looks over his shoulder now is Quarles' legacy of stellar play at a spot that is finally his.

"It's a different feeling," Ruud said Thursday after a voluntary practice at One Buc Place. "I just feel a lot more comfortable. I feel like it's finally my defense to control, and I love it. It's what I've been waiting for."

Ruud's wait was only two years. That's not all that long, but when the wait starts with a promise that the position one day will be yours, two years can seem like 20.

"It was frustrating at times, but I had a warrior in front of me," Ruud said, referring again to Quarles. "That's why I think it's all worked out for the best, because I was playing behind a guy that was a pro's pro."

Quarles was a lot more than that. He was as highly a respected person off the field as there was in the league; on the field he was a Pro Bowl player who recorded more than 110 tackles each of his last five seasons.

Why the Bucs failed him on a physical and released him last month remains a mystery to many inside and outside the organization, but the answer may lie in the player who has replaced him.

Ruud was named Quarles' heir apparent the minute he was drafted out of Nebraska two years ago, and the feeling inside One Buc Place is that Ruud is ready to begin his reign.

"Oh, he's ready all right," Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "He's good against the run and good in coverage, and he's been in the system for two years now, so he knows that really good, too.

"Now, he's not going to be able to just look at [fellow linebacker] Derrick Brooks and know what he's going to do the way Shelton could, but that will happen. It's just going to take a little time."

The time Ruud spent serving as Quarles' apprentice wasn't wasted. Ruud said he spent most of it monitoring Quarles, and he plans to instill a lot of what he learned into his own game.

"I think the biggest thing I learned was the day-to-day effort it takes to be a player of his caliber," Ruud said. "The No. 1 thing is, you can't take any shortcuts.

"When I was in college, I'd work a little harder getting ready for some games than I would others, but you can't do that in the NFL. All the games are big, and that's how Shelton approached it.

"He didn't do extra for some games. He just had a routine that he followed every week and he never varied from it. That's what I'm looking to do now. I'm looking to be real consistent with my work ethic every week."

The Bucs, meanwhile, are looking for consistent results. After all, it's been a while since they've had anything less than stellar play from their middle linebacker, and they'd like to keep it that way.

"They are pretty big shoes I'm filling," Ruud said, referring once more to Quarles. "But Shelton [filled] Hardy Nickerson's, and I think what you have to do to be successful in that kind of situation is just be your own guy.

"I mean, I'm not the same as Shelton, but what all of us have is a tremendous work ethic. Those guys before me didn't short anyone in that department, and I won't either. I'll put the work in."

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or rcummings@tampatrib.com.