Ortiz tries to pluck a spot on roster
Undrafted rookie turns attention away from his avocado business for now
While living in a hotel across the country from his California home and studying the Ravens playbook as an undrafted rookie vying for a spot on the opening-game roster, Ricky Ortiz hasn’t had much time to explore Baltimore. Or the area’s guacamole. It’s something the avocado-orchardowning fullback plans to do. But Ortiz is too invested in preparing for reporting to training camp Wednesday in Owings Mills with the rest of the Ravens’ rookies and pushing to make the team as the only player listed at a position being phased out of NFL offenses.
So, Ortiz has turned his focus from the avocado business he’s developed since middle school to the grind of rookie life, building on the versatility and patience he developed amid myriad position switches and a near medical retirement at Oregon State.
“I forget sometimes that I’m a Raven,” Ortiz said. “I just put on a jersey and come out onto the gridiron and I play football. You forget how big of a stage you’re on.”
Ortiz’s football journey has long had an influence from the heart-healthy superfood that’s surged in popularity. According to a 2015 article by The Washington Post, nearly 1.9 billion pounds of Hass avocados were sold in the United States in 2014, more than double the amount in 2005 and nearly four times the total in 2000.
In seventh grade, Ortiz and his friend, Adrian Contreras, made a plan to one day open an avocado orchard. They continued to execute the details — using Contreras’ dual citizenship in Mexico and his dad’s Owings Mills Veterans report: July 26 First workout: July 27 (closed) John Urschel dishes out educational advice Rookie Ricky Ortiz, left, is trying to make the Ravens roster as a fullback after playing that position as well as tight end and special teams at Oregon State.