By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, APRIL 7, 2016 – USF offensive lineman Cameron Ruff is taking a break from spring practice for a very special reason.
Ruff has joined student-athletes, coaches, staff members and administrators from all over the country in Phoenix, Ariz., for the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum that takes place Thursday through Sunday.
Ruff applied for the Leadership Forum this past football season and was selected as USF’s representative. Ruff then was selected as the American Athletic Conference representative for the event that's enhanced more than 5,000 student-athletes' personal and professional skills since the Leadership Forum was created in 1997.
“Cameron and I talked about this back in January. I told him there’s only one condition for him to go and that’s if he comes back and leads this football team,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “He’s going to learn some things, bring them back and help our football team.”
The Leadership Forum’s mission is for student-athletes to return to their campuses with “invaluable leadership skills" that include "the experience of exploring the relationship between personal values, core beliefs and behavioral styles, a thorough understanding of the NCAA as a whole, and the different divisional perspectives and the valuable role of Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC).” Learn more about the Leadership Forum HERE.
Ruff, a redshirt junior from Tampa, is competing at guard this spring with eight games of playing experience and one start in his USF career. Ruff is scheduled to graduate with a degree in business management this fall with future plans of attending law school or starting his own business.
“Each year he’s been developing himself physically,” Taggart said. “He’s a smart kid, so he knows what to do and he’s a Bay Area kid. It’s important to him that not only does he play, but it’s important to him that we do well here.”
Coming off the program’s first bowl appearance in five years, USF returns school season record holders at quarterback, running back and wide receiver and four all-conference selections. The Bulls return 98 percent of rushing, 93 percent of passing and 86 percent of receiving yardage from a record smashing offense that posted school-records of 5,741 yards and 54 offensive touchdowns in 2015.
While the Bulls averaged 33.6 points and 441 yards of offense per game, the defense ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in interceptions (14th), turnovers gained (24th), and tackles for loss (13th), and in the top 35 of seven statistical categories. The Bulls return five of their top six tacklers (seven of the top 10) and players that accounted for 12 of their 17 interceptions and 16 of 25 turnovers gained.
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