No gray area for Bulldogs’ Ruffin, who is making fast impression in cornerback competition

Fresno State freshman Deshawn Ruffin was up the ramp at Bulldog Stadium and on his way to class on Wednesday before the end of spring practice No. 9.

But in the periods that the cornerback from Sunnyside High was on the football field he again made an impression in a position group that has a starting job available with the loss of the highly-productive Tank Kelly, a first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection who was third in the nation with 22 passes defended.

Coach Jeff Tedford on Ruffin: “He has really been an eye opener as far as what he has been able to do out here.”

The Bulldogs have a returning starter at corner in Jaron Bryant, who last season was credited with 12 pass breakups, had one interception, one fumble recovery and was fourth in the Mountain West with 0.93 passes defended per game.

Sophomore Chris Gaston has taken the majority of the reps with the No. 1 defense at the other cornerback spot this spring, with converted running back Deonte Perry and Chris Brown working with the twos in a competitive group.

Ruffin, who signed with Fresno State in 2018 and enrolled in school in January as a grayshirt, also gets most of his work with the twos. But he has created opportunity with his diligence in the meeting room and his drill work and play in 7-on-7s and team periods on the field. He got some reps this week with the No. 1 defense, which can help accelerate Ruffin through a learning curve that extends through fall camp when Fresno State will have incoming freshmen Randy Jordan and Myles Martin joining the group..

“We’re trying to mix guys in here and there and make sure everyone is getting reps against the ones so we can see what they can do, and it helps sometimes in the secondary especially when you have the less experienced guys going with the more experienced guys,” defensive coordinator Bert Watts said.

“Now, you have somebody that really knows it and that communication is a little different when you have somebody like (safety Juju Hughes), who is going to know all the calls and all the adjustments. He can help that less experienced player confirm what he thinks. A lot of times there can be uncertainty – ‘I think I’m supposed to do this, but I’m not 100 percent.’ Just having that voice to confirm it, ‘Yep, I was right,’ really helps.”

Ruffin, often has been spot on there, which has stood out, and by the time fall camp rolls around he will have been through a winter conditioning, a spring practice and a summer program and be well ahead of a typical freshman.

“When you go through it in the meeting room and start asking them questions, he’s dialed in,” Watts said. “He’s a young man that works really hard in the classroom and studies really hard so when the gets out here on the field it helps him show up a lot more.

“For a younger guy, usually it takes a little longer. But having that strength of how hard he works in there and how hard he works on the field – sometimes it’s not both for some guys – he has a good chance to help us.”

This story was originally published April 3, 2019 at 2:52 PM.