Barrett James Ruud (born May 20, 1983) is an

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

coach who serves as inside linebackers coach for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in the second round of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

, where he was the inside linebackers coach from 2018 to 2022.

Early life

Ruud attended high school at

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

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. He was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

and a two-time all-state honorable mention selection in basketball. He 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 ...

and earned

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors as a linebacker from Prep Star and Student Sport. Ruud also played halfback and set school career records with 2,988 rushing yards and 54 touchdowns. 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 ...

''. Ruud's great-grandfather Clarence Swanson played college football for Nebraska from 1918 to 1921 and is an inductee of the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

College career

Ruud played

at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

becoming a third-generation Husker football player in the process. He earned numerous honors while there including 2004 Third-team All American, 2004 First-team All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

, 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 tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ruud was selected 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 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 In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

. 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 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 ...

, ending his season.

Seattle Seahawks

In April 2012, Ruud signed with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

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

, to provide depth at linebacker after the injury to defensive star Brian Cushing.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Ruud's father, Tom Ruud, played for the Cornhuskers in the early 1970s and later in the National Football League for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. 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. Barrett hosts an annual summer football camp at

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

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 21st-century American sportsmen 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 Players of American football from Lincoln, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Atlanta Falcons coaches