Sunday, December 17, 2000
Five Questions with Jonathan Ruffin
Ruffin
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Placekicker Jonathan Ruffin is UC's first consensus football All-American, which means he was named to three or more of the six major All-American teams. (He is first-team Associated Press, Sporting News, Walter Camp and Football News.) He's also the Lou Groza Award winner, given to the nation's top collegiate kicker. He's a huge reason why the Bearcats finished 7-4 and are headed to the Motor City Bowl Dec.27. UC's most valuable player recently spoke with Enquirer reporter John Erardi about his fabulous sophomore season (26-of-29 field goals).
Q. What's with the ballet slipper on your kicking foot?
A. It's something I picked up in the 10th grade. I was on the playground. A guy who had been a college kicker was out there practicing. He was wearing a slipper. I tried it, liked it and bought one at Eni's Dance Store. The slipper's made of thick leather, but you can really feel the ball on your foot. Real light. The lighter the shoe, the faster you can swing your leg.
Q. Did wearing that slipper instead of a cleated shoe help you on the game-winning field goal you kicked against Southern Miss to take your team's record to 7-4?
A. Yes. When I swung my foot forward to kick the ball, I actually hit the ground first. With a cleated shoe, the ground wouldn't have given way at all. But there's nothing on a slipper to catch the ground. My foot drove through our FieldTurf, kicking up that black-rubber grind they put in there. It wasn't my best kick — wasn't even a good kick, really. But it went through.
Q. Was that your biggest kick?
A. No, my biggest kick was the one in overtime at Memphis. That made us 6-4 and put us in the bowl game. As soon as I came on the field and was getting my spot — 37 (-yard line), left hash — I said "Uh-oh, this isn't good.' I had missed that exact same kick three times in warm-ups before the game. To think about missing is the worse thing you can do. But I made it.
Q. How'd you wind up in Cincinnati all the way from Metairie, La.? And where is that, anyway?
A. It's a suburb of New Orleans. We had 250 kids in my high school. There are 35,000 students here (at UC), so that was a big adjustment. The other schools that recruited me were Tulane, LSU and UCLA. I picked UC because it was a full scholarship and I could start right away. Going back home to Tulane this year and hitting four field goals was a big deal for me, even though we lost. It's something I'll never forget.
Q. How can you possibly top all that you've accomplished this season?
A. Well, as far as the awards go, I'd like to repeat them. And I'm looking forward to getting to kick some longer field goals. I can't wait to be the long-kickoff guy. But, you know, I'm going to really miss "Mammo' (senior long-kicker Jason Mammarelli, who hit a 47-yard game-winning field goal against Syracuse, and another 47-yarder against Wisconsin to send the game into overtime). "Mammo' is a big part of my success. He took me in as a friend. Having a comfort level breeds confidence, and in kicking, confidence is everything.
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Five Questions with Jonathan Ruffin
