Henry Ruggs III: Road to the Pros | Episode 1

I never saw myself as an innovator I never saw myself you know get dried to interfere I always thought basketball basketball was always my thing it was his first and only love now he enjoyed playing all of them but basketball was his passion you know a lot of kids around so he's a friendly environment everybody got along and you were you were really sheltered so you kind of got out got to be social and got to be active rob was the only person he was like my like I said my best for him out of the half and he he was one person that I did I told everything I'm not really a a social I wasn't really a social person I was bottled up and he was the only person that knew everything himmat trade kind of balanced out each other you know they kind of help each other here straight I think they became closer as they grew up grew up together and stopped you know where where sports beginning to to being something to them [Music] we warn it Lee High School shooting around we're at Southeast why we weren't in Southeast why you know find a hoop session somewhere around the city or some if we were doing that we probably at home playing 2k playing a basketball game so basketball was without light [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] that jumping ability that he has made you know they called him sky-high he was flying through there now but I always knew that he can do whatever he really wants he wants he put his mind to it because he's a finesse Kia you know at whatever he done sport whatever he finessed it but I'm really a fleet I'm already in eighth grade so we saw him do that some of the things he was doing so we're we anticipated him have an opportunity to come over and play football just give me two days a week you go play you basketball if you can just give me two days a week to just kind of learn some of the plays right I kind of pushed him toward it get chip telling and you're gonna be a fire style you can be a five-star and that's what he used to call him a five-star he would just you say man you you can do it better like you better than you better than half of them out there go out there play you know the football coaches they kind of they kind of knew what kind of competitor I was so they they kind of tried to do this reverse psychology they're like oh you can't do what you did in Little League I hear you can't do it at this high school football this good 7a this 6a football you can't do all that you can't tell me like I don't care how smart I am wait I know what I can do [Applause] you know once I went out and and started to have success now I'm like okay I got it now now I'm confident in myself and I know I can go out and you know performed with the best of them and invest exactly what I did Henry is a very cerebral kid he's very smart and he picks up on things quickly but he's one of those kids who just put the ball in his hand he knows what to do with first kickoff Henry runs it back like 80 yards for a touchdown to my super fast don't want to be toddler so he's super fast I got totally my sis on how you just that fast or do you run that fast because you don't want to be hit ha he just blew up you know it was I guess it was hard for people to stop him it was hard for people to god I man up actually I got two offers after my second game was in a year from Mississippi State and Kentucky they just kind of kept coming kept coming kept coming boxes of all first box is open so they were coming they were coming fast and everybody wanted them the big school you know some small schools but the ones that matter we're coming you know once I got a offer from the University of Alabama that does kind of hit me I was just like no I might might be I had just football days money did you know kind of lock in and focus a little more and you know I kind of started to do that and even my basketball coach they didn't he didn't write me off but they're like oh your football player now you got out from number one school in the country and football you your football player the plans were for the three of my boys to drive with rod to the game but Henry came down sick with the flu my phone was just sitting by me I fed the vibrating ignore the call Finn if I bring the game North calm sleep I don't really wanna talk and I hated to be sick so when I'm sick I was just kind of shut in and I look up and it's my cousin called him my cousin that you know gave me rides to school you know like what's up was like what's wrong you are like where you at I'm like I'm at home somebody says you got an accident so now I'm you know kind of waking myself up and I would like who got past me what you talking about right where I was in the car run right you know he had an accident they say he got throughout the car and she was saying that he was getting airlifted to the hospital you know right by my house so you know that was that was all I need to hear hunger the phone I just caught out running first thing I'd I just took off running to the hospital and ran out to the emergency room I can barely breathe I can barely talk we just sat there and just waited and just waited and waited you know I went with talk to his mom when talked to his dad just getting get updates and everything names just like he's and I seen you know days go by gonna come back tomorrow so I wake up in the morning I go back up there where the doctor came out and you can just look you know of course you can just see it in their faces in probably an hour or so later his mom came out and you know you could just tell him on her face and she was just like just shaking her head and this that's when they hit and it was just like I could make it and that was that was probably the most heartbreaking things in my life just just knowing that like I said my other half is just no longer there with me but I knew that eventually I I carry that legacy and keep that you know everything that he taught me with me but just to know that he I can't physically be with him anymore that was heartbreaking they live with me forever I got this wristband I never taken off or anything I mean that's like I said that there's somebody that's gonna that's gonna live with me forever [Music] right out of vision and he told him that he was a five star athlete and he saw him going to play for bet of course has a mom you want your baby to go and be play for the best because they're saying he is the best so I wanted to give him that opportunity to do that but in the end it was right that eventually made him make that decision it was it was because right I knew that when I made my command video is gonna be a tribute to him laying his cap on Raj gray we let him know that's where he was going you know Alabama so for someone that you know to dedicate they're not just is where basically his college career he dedicated it to him so it means a lot I mean it's not even words can't even express how much that meant to us [Applause] once I actually sound like he said this wasn't happening and I went to the grave lot later than might like how like wait like how you know every day when my kids do special things or my grandkids do this I'm of the teary person or so you know and you know I teared up but and it when he put that hat on I told him man he looked like he was made to go down without you know what I'm saying so it was it was good decision you know you know he grew up with Alabama fans force Alabama fans so it was an easy decision and I feel like he made a business decision as well you know you know what more can you ask for you know you go to college everybody want to win [Music] [Music]

Channel: Alabama Crimson Tide on AL.com

Views: 529,933

Keywords: Alabama, Crimson Tide, Roll Tide, henry ruggs iii, nfl draft, prospects, receivers, lee, rod scott, montgomery, recruiting, national signing day, commitment, video, documentary, las vegas, vegas, raiders, nfl, first round, pick, oakland, 2020, car, accident, wreck

Id: m-QGMXHpfRc

Length: 9min 27sec (567 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 07 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/PIanet_Nein]

I think a lot of people see speed and just assume it means a downfield threat, but they massively underestimate how much it helps with YAC in a system like Gruden's. Quick strikes and his burst and ability to separate afterwards could make him more valuable than the other two. I think I could probably explain this better if I wasn't stoned out of my mind right now. Can't tell if that's why I'm slowly feeling better about these picks... plus winning $120 on the Ruggs pick might help too

[u/RonMecca]

Don't know how you can watch that and not root for him. I'm excited for him to break a few next year. I like the pick.