Henry Ruggs

Henry Ruggs
Ruggs with Alabama.
Personal information
Born:	January 24 1999 (1999-01-24)
	Montgomery, Alabama
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	188 lbs (85 kg)
Personal information
High school:	Robert E. Lee (Montgomery, Alabama)
College:	Alabama
NFL Draft:	2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12th
Roster status: Active
Career history
Las Vegas Raiders (2020–2021)
Career highlights and awards
CFP national champion (2017)

Henry James Ruggs III (born January 24, 1999) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons. He was a three-sport athlete in high school and played college football at Alabama. Ruggs was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

During his second season, Ruggs caused a motor vehicle collision that killed the driver on another car. He was released by the Raiders the same day. Ruggs pled guilty to driving under the influence (DUI) resulting in death and vehicular manslaughter in 2023 and was sentenced to three to 10 years in a Nevada state prison. He is currently incarcerated at the Stewart Conservation Camp.

Early years

Ruggs grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. In the eighth grade, Ruggs was promoted to the varsity football team for the final two games of their season. He attended Robert E. Lee High School. Ruggs did not play high school football until his junior year and received his first scholarship offer after just his second game on the gridiron. As a senior, he had 38 catches for 639 yards and 20 total touchdowns over nine games. Of those 20 touchdowns, nine were catches, seven were rushes, three were passes, and one was a kick return. In addition to football, Ruggs played basketball and ran track in high school, and his 10.58-second 100-meter dash time broke the Alabama High School Athletic Association's class 7A record. In 2017, 247Sports.com ranked Ruggs as the second best high school football player in Alabama. Ruggs received scholarship offers from over 20 colleges to play football, but ultimately committed to the University of Alabama.

College career

As a true freshman at Alabama in 2017, Ruggs had 12 receptions for 229 yards and six touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2018, he had 46 receptions for 741 yards and 11 touchdowns. As a junior in 2019, he had 40 receptions for 746 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. During his junior season, Ruggs was also the team's primary kick returner and averaged 23.8 yards per return. His 24 total career receiving touchdowns places him third on Alabama's all-time leaderboard. On January 6, 2020, Ruggs announced that he would forgo his senior year and enter the 2020 NFL Draft.

Professional career

All values from NFL Combine

Pre-draft measureables

Ht	Wt	Arm lengthHand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
5 ft 11 in	188 lb	30 1/2 in	10 1/8 in	4.27 s					42.0 in	10 ft 11 in

Ruggs ran a 4.27-second 40-yard dash at the 2020 NFL Combine, which was the fastest time by any prospect by .08 seconds, and tied for the fourth-fastest ever at the event since electronic timing began in 1999. Ruggs' vertical jump measured 42-inches, which was tied for the second best mark among wide receivers at the 2020 combine. The Las Vegas Raiders selected Ruggs with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, making him the first wide receiver taken. The selection made Ruggs the first ever draft pick of the Las Vegas Raiders after their move from Oakland earlier in the 2020 offseason. Ruggs was the Raiders’ second consecutive first round pick of a player from the University of Alabama, joining 2019 first round running back Josh Jacobs. On July 21, 2020, the Raiders and Ruggs agreed to terms on a fully guaranteed four-year contract worth $16.67 million, with a team option for a fifth-year.

2020

On September 13, 2020, Ruggs made his NFL debut in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers, finishing with three receptions for 55 yards in the 34–30 win. During Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Ruggs finished with 118 receiving yards on only two receptions, which included a 72-yard touchdown his first NFL career touchdown, as the Raiders won 40–32. In Week 13 against the New York Jets, Ruggs recorded three catches for 84 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown reception with 5 seconds left in the game to help the Raiders win by a score of 31–28. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on December 15, 2020, and activated on December 24.

2021

In the 2021 season, Ruggs had 24 receptions, 469 receiving yards, and two touchdowns in seven games.

Ruggs was released on November 2, 2021, following allegations of driving under the influence that led to a fatality. His two-season stint with the Raiders totaled 20 games, 1,197 all-purpose yards, and four touchdowns.

NFL statistics

Year	Team	Games		Receiving					Rushing					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Fum	Lost
2020	LV	13	12	26	452	17.4	72T	2	9	49	5.4	12	0	2	2
2021	LV	7	7	24	469	19.5	61	2	3	16	5.3	7	0	0	0
Career		20	19	50	921	18.4	72T	4	12	65	5.4	12	0	2	2

Personal life

Ruggs credits his late friend Roderic Scott with encouraging him to play football in high school. Scott died in a car accident at 17 years of age, and Ruggs honors him with a three-fingered salute after every touchdown because Scott wore number 3 on the football field. Ruggs’ brother Kevontae played college football for Ole Miss in 2018 before transferring to Eastern Mississippi Community College in 2019.

In April 2020, Henry Ruggs partnered with Three Square, a southern Nevada food bank, to donate meals to those in need because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

On May 7, 2020, Ruggs’ daughter was born to his long-term girlfriend Rudy Washington.

2021 fatal car crash

On November 2, 2021, Ruggs rear-ended another car at high speed in Las Vegas, killing 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog, according to Las Vegas police and county prosecutors. Ruggs has been charged with driving under the influence resulting in death and reckless driving.

Hours before the incident, Ruggs and his girlfriend, Kiara Kilgo-Washington, were seen drinking at a Topgolf location in Las Vegas. They left after midnight in his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Police said that shortly thereafter, about 3:39 a.m. PT, Ruggs was driving 156 miles per hour (251 km/h). He attempted to brake as he approached a Toyota RAV4 being driven by Tintor, but slammed into it at 120 miles per hour (190 km/h), police said. The Clark County Coroner determined that Tintor and her dog burned to death as her vehicle was engulfed in flames following the collision.

Ruggs and Kilgo-Washington were transported to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMCSN) with non-life-threatening injuries.

Legal proceedings

Upon his release from the hospital, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department booked him into the Clark County Detention Center. Ruggs appeared in court the following day, and Judge Joe M. Bonaventure set bail at $150,000. On March 10, 2022 a judge postponed Ruggs' preliminary hearing until May 19, with Ruggs' attorney stating that various inspections still needed to be done. If convicted, he faces 3 to 26 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines, 2–20 years for the fatal DUI crash, 1–6 years for reckless driving causing death, and up to $5,000 in fines for each.

Police reports show Ruggs had refused to take a field sobriety test, and his blood test was taken 2 hours following the crash, revealing a blood alcohol content of 0.161%, more than twice the legal limit in Nevada. Ruggs defense attorney, David Chesnoff, argued that Ruggs was unable to submit a field sobriety test because of his injuries sustained in the accident, and claimed the blood test shouldn't be admissible as evidence since the police did not have probable cause to obtain a blood test. Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman rejected Chesnoff's arguments and ruled that the blood test is admissible as evidence in the case.

On May 10, 2023, as part of a plea agreement, Ruggs pleaded guilty to one count of felony DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. Prosecutors said they reached a plea deal due to concerns the blood draw would be thrown out, and with it the only evidence to support the felony DUI charge. They were not willing to chance Ruggs only facing charges of reckless driving, which could have only resulted in probation. He was sentenced on August 9, 2023, to spend between three and ten years at High Desert State Prison in Nevada.

Response

The Las Vegas Raiders released Ruggs later on November 2, 2021.

Various football players and coaches made public statements. Derek Carr, a former Raiders teammate, said Ruggs needs to be loved and that "if no one else will do it, I'll do it". Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia said, "We want to express our sincere condolences to the victim's family". Kadarius Toney of the New York Giants drew criticism for seeming to ignore the gravity of the situation and excuse Ruggs when he tweeted, "We young…..everybody make mistakes… he know he messed up don’t drag em for it……that's goofy to me…." Nick Saban, who coached Ruggs on the Alabama Crimson Tide college football team, said, "We're going to support him through it, but we also have a lot of compassion for the victims, and our thoughts and prayers are also with them." Quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts, who both played with Ruggs at Alabama, also spoke on the matter. Tagovailoa said, "You'd never think this guy could hurt a soul, so when you see something like that – I mean, I'm still kind of in disbelief. But, obviously my heart goes out to the family that has been affected by it. But my heart also goes out to Henry as my teammate, ex-teammate." Hurts said, "It's unfortunate to see a situation like that unfold, and I'll just kind of leave it at that. It hurts my heart for everybody involved."

External links

• Twitter
• Las Vegas Raiders bio
• Alabama Crimson Tide bio

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