Cole Ruble – HS Athlete of the Week

The Seckman football team has seen a resurgence over the past few years in which they have emerged as a team to watch in the area and Cole Ruble has been a major key to the Jaguars success.

Ruble leads the area in scoring with 150 points and is second in rushing with 1,189 yards. He has also accounted for 498 yards in the air as he is truly a dual threat from his quarterback position.

Ruble comes from a football family and that is where he started to love the game. It started at a young age when he decided he wanted to be the best that he could be.

“My love for the game started when I was four years old when all my cousins were already playing football,” stated Ruble. “My parents said that we should get you in and start playing. When I started, I said that I need to work my hardest and I have always taken the example of my cousin and how they worked hard. My dad has also pushed me to be the best player that I can be and that there is always room for improvement.”

Photo Courtesy of Cheap Seats Photography

With the numbers that Ruble has put up in his career at Seckman, you must believe that he has put an incredible amount of time and energy into his craft. Ruble’s work ethic at the high school level is second to none.

“I have worked very hard for all of the accolades that I have received thus far,” said Ruble. “But I am not satisfied because I know that there are things that I can improve upon. I have always worked hard during the off-season with two-a-day lifting and practices, and then I head to the field for footwork training. I am not the only one on the team that does all of this as Austin Westervelt and Michael Stivers has been right there with me. They have pushed me to be the record-setting running back that I am at Seckman. I cannot say that I have done it by myself. I know that there is work to do and I know that I can do more.”

Ruble is part of a group of players and coaches that have resurrected the Jaguar program over the past three years. He is quick to credit his teammates and the other seniors in the program for what they all have done to make Seckman a winning program.

“It is a special group of guys with a work ethic that has always been there,” stated Ruble. “With the season that we are having, we are not satisfied with whatever we have done. We are a hungry group, and we are always looking for more. Stivers is without a doubt one of the hungriest kids that I know in football. He is a tremendous athlete and has always wanted more. Our team has always had that bond since we were in sixth grade and most of us have been playing together since middle school. We have bonded not only as a team but as friends. We are a family for sure.”

The juggling act that student-athletes have to do to be successful is something that is not lost on Ruble. He knows that being a leader in the classroom is just as important as being a leader on the field.

“It is tough at times,” said Ruble. “I just say to myself, what if I didn’t do my homework, what if I was not going to the gym, or what if I am not working as hard as I can? I don’t think of it as I am going to enjoy this, I do it for a purpose. I love football and this is what I want to do. I also make it all work for my family. They want me to do great things in college and that is what I want to do for them.”

The next step for one of the best running backs that the metro area has seen is a big one as he announced his commitment to Southeast Missouri State yesterday. This is a program on the rise and Ruble will fit in perfectly with the offense that is being run.

Congratulations to Cole Ruble on being named our HSSC/Scoops with Danny Mac Student-Athlete of the Week and we wish him and the Jaguars all of the best for the rest of the season.