Receiver Henry Ruggs brings speed and smile to Raiders

Raiders running back Josh Jacobs flashed a big smile when asked about his friend and teammate Henry Ruggs. Their relationship dates back to Alabama where they were teammates for two seasons.

Jacobs credits Ruggs with always being able to make him laugh. He just had to figure out how to speak his language.

“You can tell he acts like the people where he’s from in Montgomery. They kind of have this little slang and just certain things that they say,” Jacobs said with a laugh, referring without being specific to the lingo Ruggs learned in his hometown in Alabama. “He’s just a good dude.”

Ruggs’ journey out of Montgomery, however, was paved with as much sadness as joy.

He grew up dreaming of being a basketball star along with his best friend Rod Scott, who many people just assumed was a brother. The two bore a resemblance and seemed inseparable. Where there was one, there was the other.

Scott, however, envisioned Ruggs as more of a football player, even though he didn’t play the sport in his junior year in high school. Scott would tell Ruggs that he would return to football and eventually earn a scholarship to Alabama.

That prediction would come true, but Scott would not be around to see it.

He was killed in March 2016 when he was a backseat passenger in a car that flipped four times into the median of a highway on a rainy morning en route to a state basketball playoff game. Ruggs was supposed to be driving.

But Ruggs felt sick and decided to pass on the drive at the last minute, a decision he still grapples with today but one that inspires him to take full advantage of every opportunity afforded him.

“Now anybody (will tell you) whenever I get sick I’m not going to lay into bed. I’m not sitting around,” he said on a podcast this year. “That’s another reason why I don’t like to sleep.”

Ruggs still honors Scott by holding up three fingers, representing his friend’s basketball jersey number, before games and after touchdowns.

When Ruggs decided to attend Alabama, his emotional announcement video included placing a Crimson Tide hat on Scott’s grave.

“He was the closest person to me, so he was the only person that knew everything,” Ruggs told the Montgomery Advertiser. “I’d tell him about this visit and this school or that school, and he was just like, ‘Nah, you’re going to Alabama.’ That’s all he’d say basically.”

When Ruggs did arrive at Alabama, he became an instant star and made fast friends with Jacobs. “From the moment I met him in college, me and him kind of clicked,” Jacobs said. “When I found out he was coming here, it was just a plus-plus for me.

“He is goofy. He’s definitely likes to play a lot. He knows when to be serious and when it’s time to work. But if you just hang out with him, he’s always making jokes and saying little things. He’s just a unique person and a very humble kid, very rooted in his family.”

That family now includes a daughter, born shortly after the Raiders selected him in the first round of April’s NFL draft. Kenzli Re’Nai Ruggs was born on May 7, “the day my life changed,” according to Ruggs’ Instagram post.

The speedy receiver has made an immediate impact on his Raiders family, as well.

“He’s a quiet kid and an independent thinker,” coach Jon Gruden said. “He’s smart. He’s a great competitor. He’s tough. He’s a likable guy. Everybody likes Henry. And he’s really fast. He’s improving.

“I think he realizes he still has a lot to learn in this league, and he’s getting better and better within our offense. I think if you met Henry, or if anyone met Henry, they’d say similar things about him.”

The results haven’t quite been what Gruden and the rest of the team braintrust had hoped for through seven games.

Ruggs has battled injuries and has been limited to eight catches for 212 yards and a touchdown in the four contests for which he has been active.

Gruden and offensive coordinator Greg Olson have said they need to find more ways to get Ruggs involved, but some of it is also on the rookie.

“When it’s one-on-one, we need him to win,” Gruden said. “He knows that. We know that.”

There have been positive signs. Ruggs leads the league in yards per catch at 26.5, nearly 5 yards better than D.K. Metcalf’s 21.6.

Quarterback Derek Carr expects continued improvement in Ruggs because he is so driven.

“He’s very competitive,” Carr said. “If he doesn’t do something exactly right he’s mad at himself, he’s hard on himself. He’s his hardest critic. Always working. … I got nothing but great things to say about Henry. … He’s a great teammate, and I’m excited to see what he can do even for us this week.”

Raiders fans and Ruggs hope that involves more trips to the end zone and more 3s up for Rod Scott.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.