Former 4 Star Grad Transfer QB Jace Ruder Commits to North Texas

BillySee58 · February 2, 2021

10 minutes ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Is he currently enrolled at UNT?

Graduating from UNC in May

ttunt1970 · February 2, 2021

What’s his eligibility status how many years left 2/3 great pickup!!

p_phelps · February 2, 2021

2 minutes ago, ttunt1970 said:

What’s his eligibility status how many years left 2/3 great pickup!!

Has 4 yrs to play

UNT Mean Green · February 2, 2021

Just now, p_phelps said:

Has 4 yrs to play

Awesome - basically a FR

TarHeel · February 2, 2021

Tar Heel Fan here!

I love this move for Jace and for UNT. We always appreciate what Seth did for our offense in ‘14-‘15 and picking up Jace will be a huge compliment to the UNT program. Jace flashed a very good skill set before getting injured and contrary to popular belief, he’s not as injury prone as you’d believe as he’s had zero non-contact injuries. He just needs to learn when not to take hits.

You guys are getting a really good one. He has a cannon for an arm, he’s mobile, he’s big. He’s also had the opportunity to learn from an offense that was one of the best in CFB and will have a preseason Heisman favorite in Sam Howell. Jace will be polished and ready to start from day 1, guaranteed.

I wish him and you guys nothing but success!

Cr1028 · February 2, 2021

10 minutes ago, TarHeel said:

Tar Heel Fan here!

I love this move for Jace and for UNT. We always appreciate what Seth did for our offense in ‘14-‘15 and picking up Jace will be a huge compliment to the UNT program. Jace flashed a very good skill set before getting injured and contrary to popular belief, he’s not as injury prone as you’d believe as he’s had zero non-contact injuries. He just needs to learn when not to take hits.

You guys are getting a really good one. He has a cannon for an arm, he’s mobile, he’s big. He’s also had the opportunity to learn from an offense that was one of the best in CFB and will have a preseason Heisman favorite in Sam Howell. Jace will be polished and ready to start from day 1, guaranteed.

I wish him and you guys nothing but success!

I like that he got to learn a little from Mack Brown too. I never liked the Longhorns much but he recruited my cousin to come play for him at Tulane. He even showed me his Independence Bowl Jersey once. When my cousin was dying from cancer, I sent a message to Mack’s secretary at Texas telling the story of him and my cousin and how my cousin was sick and dying. Mack called and left him a voicemail the very next day with some kind words. I will always be a Mack Brown fan.

Edited February 2, 2021 by Cr1028

UNT Mean Green · February 2, 2021

11 minutes ago, TarHeel said:

Tar Heel Fan here!

I love this move for Jace and for UNT. We always appreciate what Seth did for our offense in ‘14-‘15 and picking up Jace will be a huge compliment to the UNT program. Jace flashed a very good skill set before getting injured and contrary to popular belief, he’s not as injury prone as you’d believe as he’s had zero non-contact injuries. He just needs to learn when not to take hits.

You guys are getting a really good one. He has a cannon for an arm, he’s mobile, he’s big. He’s also had the opportunity to learn from an offense that was one of the best in CFB and will have a preseason Heisman favorite in Sam Howell. Jace will be polished and ready to start from day 1, guaranteed.

I wish him and you guys nothing but success!

Thank you for the detailed update! We are thankful Jace chose UNT, and look forward to watching him in Green. Best of luck this year, your program is on a tremendous trend!

PlummMeanGreen · February 2, 2021

Pinch me! Wake me!
Never mind—don’t wake me! 🤠

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · February 2, 2021

This is so exciting!!! He’ll be here in the summer

greenminer · February 2, 2021

I love this.

This has to be a first: a 4-star recruit for 3 years, and he has already had 3 years of getting used to the game. Not sure I've ever seen that before but, you know, COVID.

BillySee58 · February 2, 2021

Looking at his high school stats, they aren’t eye-popping like most P5 QB Signees, especially against pretty tame competition.

His completion percentage in his 3 seasons as a full-time starter were: 45.7%, 50.8%, and 48.1%. His best season was his junior season where he threw for 1,598 yards with 14 TDs against 8 INTs on 50.8% completion. We temper our expectations on Bryce Drummond and his 72.5% completion this season because it was against small OK schools. Ruder struggled to get over 50% against small KS schools. Ruder’s rushing stats were pretty solid including going for 1,032 rushing yards his senior season.

Good news is we are getting him in his fourth year of college football and still have up to four seasons remaining, so strives should be expected. He clearly has the skills you can’t teach and throws a good ball. You take this commitment every day of the week.

https://www.maxpreps.com/m/athlete/jace-ruder/H1DaeiQlEeS00gAmVebEWg/football-fall-17/stats.htm

Edited February 2, 2021 by BillySee58

Wag Tag · February 3, 2021

You have always been a strong proponent of offers in judging talent. His offer sheet is amazing with offers from all over the country. I’m very excited to see a kid this big that is a dual threat. In CUSA he will be as big as most linebackers and in some cases DE. I’m curious to see what happens with Bowman and Tisdale. Zappe for a lot of fans would of been a great addition. GMG

Edited February 3, 2021 by Wag Tag

Side.Show.Joe · February 3, 2021

In my opinion, this is a great use of the transfer portal. Thank you, Seth. This is the kind of move many of us on this board have been asking for. We still have slots available in this class. I hope we see more additions of this caliber in the near future. These are the types of moves that will get the fan base excited and eager to buy season tickets. Again, Thank you Littrell!

Edited February 3, 2021 by Side.Show.Joe

southsideguy · February 3, 2021

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

We need a defense so let us try to find players.

TheReal_jayD · February 3, 2021

2 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

Looking at his high school stats, they aren’t eye-popping like most P5 QB Signees, especially against pretty tame competition.

His completion percentage in his 3 seasons as a full-time starter were: 45.7%, 50.8%, and 48.1%. His best season was his junior season where he threw for 1,598 yards with 14 TDs against 8 INTs on 50.8% completion. We temper our expectations on Bryce Drummond and his 72.5% completion this season because it was against small OK schools. Ruder struggled to get over 50% against small KS schools. Ruder’s rushing stats were pretty solid including going for 1,032 rushing yards his senior season.

Good news is we are getting him in his fourth year of college football and still have up to four seasons remaining, so strives should be expected. He clearly has the skills you can’t teach and throws a good ball. You take this commitment every day of the week.

https://www.maxpreps.com/m/athlete/jace-ruder/H1DaeiQlEeS00gAmVebEWg/football-fall-17/stats.htm

You watch his high school film? His highlights is him hitting kids in chest and them dropping passes lol. I haven’t seen that many drop passes on a highlight tape since my intramural highlight reel

BillySee58 · February 3, 2021

9 minutes ago, TheReal_jayD said:

You watch his high school film? His highlights is him hitting kids in chest and them dropping passes lol. I haven’t seen that many drop passes on a highlight tape since my intramural highlight reel

Yeah I think 3 of his first 4 passes are incompletions. That’s a first from tapes I’ve seen, and they were good passes.

In projecting high school QBs I want to see that completion % hovering around 60 for a high school QB, and the TD/INT ratio hopefully at least close to 3:1. Struggling to hit 50% and being under 2:1 on TD/INT ratio in all of his seasons as a starter is concerning if I’m looking at it from an unbiased standpoint, which I am. You always give a little leeway for having subpar receivers and/or bad coordinators, but his numbers weren’t pretty even accounting for some things working against him.

Doesn't mean he won’t be good or that he will be inaccurate, but those numbers are concerning and it’s important to look at the body of work from a QB and not just the highlights, since every highlight film is going to make it seem like accuracy isn’t an issue. Like I said, take this commitment everyday of the week. Whether it’s a 2-star, 3-star or 4-star, no other offers or a bunch of P5 offers, I try to keep bars like that consistent for all of them, then add context.

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · February 3, 2021

1 hour ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

In my opinion, this is a great use of the transfer portal. Thank you, Seth. This is the kind of move many of us on this board have been asking for. We still have slots available in this class. I hope we see more additions of this caliber in the near future. These are the types of moves that will get the fan base excited and eager to buy season tickets. Again, Thank you Littrell!

Sarcastic Sarcasm GIF

VideoEagle · February 3, 2021

Can we drop the whole "Seth won't look at Graduate Transfers" thing now.

RiseUNT · February 3, 2021

5 minutes ago, VideoEagle said:

Can we drop the whole "Seth won't look at Graduate Transfers" thing now.

Wasn’t his first QB a grad transfer?

greenminer · February 3, 2021

8 minutes ago, VideoEagle said:

Can we drop the whole "Seth won't look at Graduate Transfers" thing now.

I guess I'm blind. Didn't know that was a thing in the first place.

Wag Tag · February 3, 2021

Can you be a grad transfer with 3-4 yrs of eligibility? Need a new definition.

TheReal_jayD · February 3, 2021

Just now, Wag Tag said:

Can you be a grad transfer with 3-4 yrs of eligibility? Need a new definition.

When you graduate.... Then transfer... you are a grad transfer. Whether it takes you one year... or 5 like me

NT93 · February 3, 2021

39 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

Can you be a grad transfer with 3-4 yrs of eligibility? Need a new definition.

It’s the new math😁

El Paso Eagle · February 3, 2021

Do Grad Transfers sign a NLI?

BillySee58 · February 3, 2021

52 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

Can you be a grad transfer with 3-4 yrs of eligibility? Need a new definition.

Ryan Finley graduated from Boise State then grad transferred to NC State where he was the starter for 3 seasons. Similar to Ruder he had a couple injuries at Boise that allowed him to be granted a 6th season.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/ryan-finley-1.html