MONTGOMERY, Ala. – There might not be a more powerful announcement on national signing day than the one made by Henry Ruggs III.
The ESPN 300 wide receiver chose Alabama over Florida State, adding to a Crimson Tide class that came in to the day ranked No. 1 nationally. But he didn’t just put on the Alabama hat that was sitting on the table in front of him.
In a full auditorium at his high school, they played a video to honor Ruggs’ late friend Rod Scott, a classmate who died in a car accident on March 4. At the end of the video, the same Alabama hat sitting at the table was shown sitting atop Scott’s grave. At that moment, Ruggs walked over and put the hat on. The crowd jumped up in excitement, giving Ruggs a standing ovation.
“During the process, I always kept him in mind,” Ruggs said of Scott. “I always thought about him, tried to talk to him as much as I could. He was pretty much the only person I talked to about my recruiting process when I started. I just told him I’d honor him with my decision.”
One of the first things Scott said to Ruggs when the recruiting process began was that Ruggs needed to be at Alabama. Ruggs never forgot that.
The addition of Ruggs makes it 19 players ranked in the ESPN 300 for Alabama. The 6-foot, 175-pound receiver says that the coaches want him to start out in the slot, though he has the size and ability to play inside or outside.
“Once you get there, you want to make a name for yourself,” Ruggs said. “So basically, I want to get there, work hard, compete for a spot and make an impact early my freshman year.”
