Raiders’ Ruggs is humble and hungry to make a difference

Go ahead and assume that while the Raiders were researching Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, one of their contacts was Eric Hudson, the defensive coordinator at Lee High School in Montgomery, Ala.

And if he wasn’t, assume Hudson called the Raiders himself.

The Raiders already knew that Ruggs was the fastest wide receiver in the NFL draft, with the kind of speed to evoke memories of the late Cliff Branch. Coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock aren’t above rolling the dice on big talent, but when it comes to a substantial investment with the 12th pick of the first round, they’d also like to be comfortable with his character.

In that regard, Hudson, who drove Ruggs to his first unofficial visit to Alabama, has a story to tell.

Before a two-hour drive from Montgomery to Tuscaloosa, Hudson stopped at fast food restaurant, ordered some food for himself, and also a pair of sausage biscuits and a soft drink for Ruggs.

Hudson soon discovered Ruggs had eaten only one of the sandwiches, but had poured his soft drink into Hudson’s water bottle. Hudson asked Ruggs about it. Said Ruggs:

“Coach, I just wanted to make sure you had something to eat, because it was two sandwiches in the bag,” Hudson told the Montgomery Advertiser.

Ruggs told the Advertiser it was merely a part of his upbringing.

“Coming from where I’m from and the family that I’m in, I was raised around five brothers,” Ruggs said. “So, the motto was: ‘If one eats, we all eat.”

Before departing for Las Vegas as the highest drafted receiver in the draft, Ruggs took some time to give back to his high school. Lee is listed as a Title 1 school in Alabama, which means more then 40 percent of the school population lives in poverty. Other than the modest stipend received by coaches, no funds are made available for sports or other extracurricular activities.

Ruggs offered up a signed Raiders helmet which brought back $350 on the NFL auction web site to the school.

“Where I’m from, I know people don’t have much,” Ruggs said. “Going to Lee, I know what’s there and what’s not there. So, why not — with the platform I have, with the things I have done, and the things that I can do — give back to the people that don’t have much?”

It’s expected that the money will go to materials to battle the effects of COVID-19, including hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, masks and gloves.

Ruggs, meanwhile, will join the Raiders in Las Vegas although it’s not clear what his level of participation will be in informal workouts and then training camp. On June 1, Ruggs was injured helping a friend move and had stitches in his thigh.

Ruggs father, Henry Ruggs Jr., told AL.com the injury wasn’t serious, although his son was initially on crutches.

“He was trying to move a trailer or something — move furniture or something — and the trailer just kind of pinned him against a car or a wall or something,” Ruggs Jr. said. “He’s pretty much OK, I’m about to go out there and see him in a little bit. It was just like a little open wound on his leg, a little incision. Like something had stuck him right there on his thigh a little bit.”

The Raiders are counting on Ruggs for bigplay capability as well as opening things up for other receivers.

“We all know he’s fast physically. But when you find out he’s fast mentally, he can handle a lot of stuff,” Gruden said. “We think we’ve got someone with a chance to be great.”