Tight end Joel Ruiz’s career is over at Georgia State.
Coach Trent Miles said on his weekly radio show on Sunday that Ruiz is scheduled to have surgery on his knee, which will end his season.
Ruiz, a native of Kingsland, earned all-Sun Belt Conference honors last season after catching 39 passes for 478 yards and three touchdowns. It was his first season at Georgia State after transferring from Presbyterian.
However, he suffered a knee injury toward the end of the2014 season that caused him to miss spring football. He tried to get back in time for the start of the 2015 season, but it was obvious that he lacked the speed and explosiveness that he had last year.
As a result, he caught just four passes for 38 yards this season.
However, he is considered to be one of the top 10 tight ends in college football and is projected to have an opportunity to play in the NFL.
Ruiz isn’t the only tight end dealing with an injury. Keith Rucker missed Saturday’s 37-3 loss to Appalachian State because of an injured hamstring. Miles said he’s not sure if Rucker will return for this week’s game at Ball State. He has caught seven passes for 107 yards this season. Bill Teknipp will likely start again next week.
In other injury updates, backup quarterback Emiere Scaife sustained a concussion against Appalachian State and is expected to miss this week’s game. Freshman Aaron Winchester will back-up starter Nick Arbuckle. Clay Chastain will move from tight end to the third quarterback, a position he played when he enrolled at Georgia State for the 2013 season.
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