Maintaining the Standard: Running Back Da’Vekio Ruffin giving Zachary Plenty of Punch

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

Before he ever stepped foot onto Zachary’s campus four years ago running back Da’vekio Ruffin understood how he would be measured.

The Broncos had established themselves as the state’s top Class 5A program and the line to the field for playing time was long and filled with talent. 

Ruffin had to wait his turn, watching such standouts as Connor Wisham, Cameron Stewart, Kameron Thomas, and Nate James take their turns, providing the Broncos with the kind of rushing threat that’s been a staple of the program’s success.

Ruffin enjoyed his share of moments in youth leagues, and middle school and junior high levels, but watched patiently, listening to those around him and asking questions of his teammates in his position group.

“I handled it well,” Ruffin said. “Not being able to go there and do what I do also taught me to be patient, my time was going to come. While I was waiting, I learned a couple of things from those guys. I asked them about a couple of things they did out there that I didn’t know about. I took a little from their game and added it to mine.”

Ruffin, the team’s lead back this season, had enjoyed his share of highlights with four 100-yard performances, before his senior year went into overdrive the past two weeks, helping No. 14 Zachary (7-3) to the Division I state regional playoff against No. 3 Ruston (8-2) at Hoss Garrett Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday.

The two programs met a year ago in the state championship game with the Bearcats defeating the Broncos, 31-17.

Ruffin was but a bystander during his team’s run to a fifth state title game appearance in 2023, backing up Thomas and James who combined for 1,900 yards and 20 touchdowns. 

He’s not only become the No. 1 option in the backfield, but he’s turned heads in his team’s previous two games – a 73-55 setback to Catholic High in District 4-5A play, and a 54-35 victory over Sam Houston in last week’s playoff opener.

Ruffin topped his career-high rushing yards in each of his last two performances with 48 carries for 623 yards (14.2 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns). 

The breakdown reads like this: 27 carries, 304 yards (11.3 yards per carry), 6 TDs against Catholic; 17 attempts, 319 yards (18.8 yards per carry), and 6 TDs versus Sam Houston.

For the season, he’s rushed 144 times for 1,473 yards (10 yards per carry, 147.3 yards per game) with 24 touchdowns. He also has four receptions for 44 yards.

“Those are dream nights for anybody,” Ruffin admitted. “Six touchdowns (a game) aren’t normal for 5A. My success, I commend everyone on offense from the receivers to the quarterback and the O-line. Everyone’s just got to do their job, and I have to do my job. I know they can rely on me. The big boys up front let me run through the holes so I could get those yards and touchdowns.”

Zachary head coach David Brewerton was overwhelmed by both performances.

“Pretty mind-boggling,” Brewerton told WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge. “That’s a lot of yards, and a lot of touchdowns in a couple of weeks.”

It’s part of the job description Ruffin embraced when he became the team’s full-time starter this year. He understood the benchmark that came along with the position that’s been elevated by so many before him.

“As a running back, you’ve got to run, you’ve got to block and catch,” he said. “You have to communicate with the O-line to protect the quarterback, and when they give you the ball or throw it to you, make something happen.

“My reps were limited in the past, so when I got in, I had to roll with it,” Ruffin said. “When I got on the field, I had to do what I had to do. I had to eat, but also protect my quarterback (Caleb Gonzales) and communicate with the O-line.”

For someone with 412 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns coming into this season, Ruffin looked forward to upholding the tradition of the position coached by Kendall Cleveland, a former LSU running back.

“I approached the offseason knowing I was going to be that guy,” Ruffin said “When they gave me the ball, you’ve got to make all of the reps count, even when you’re not in the game. You’ve got to mentally be into the game. You have to listen to everyone, communicate with the O-line, and make sure I’ve got all of that down, so when my time comes, I’ve got to run with it.

“Going into the summer I knew my hard work was going to pay off,” Ruffin said. “It’s been good. I knew I was going to get more reps my senior year and I was going to make it count. That the hard work was finally going to pay off.”

Dynamite in a small package

Ruffin’s had more than a senior season to prove his worth. He’s been doing it ever since the 5-foot-6, 160-pounder started running the ball and playing linebacker when he was younger.

Such talk of his ability to measure up size-wise to play the position followed has only served as motivation.

“It takes being locked in and giving it all you’ve got,” Ruffin said. “You have to have the heart and when you have that, no one can defeat you when you believe you can do it. It made me prove all doubters wrong. People that know me, know that only fuels me and I’m going to go out and prove them wrong. 

“They say this guy’s too small or not fast enough,” Ruffin said. “Well, I’m going to show you when I get on the field. I’m to show you how my size takes advantage of you. You’re going to have to do better.”

Ruffin said his low-to-the-ground style is a benefit, allowing him to almost disappear by his mammoth offensive lineman and utilize his vision and shiftiness against unsuspecting defenses.

“My center of gravity is very low,” he said. “If you go low, that may not work out for you. If you go head up, that may not work out for you. You have to come a certain kind of way and I’m not a big back. My center of gravity’s an advantage and that works in my favor against linebackers and safeties.”

Zachary averaged 196.9 rushing yards a game, a number predicated on the play of an offensive line that features left tackle Clifton Webb left guard Braeden White, center Trayvion Richard, right guard Keidrich Bailey, and right tackle Ian Boyd.

Much of Ruffin’s success has taken place between Webb and Bailey where it’s commonplace to find larger backs creating havoc between the harsh marks. While he’s comfortable bouncing a play to the outside and outrunning outside linebackers and cornerbacks, a great majority of Ruffin’s yards are right up the middle. 

“I know I can depend on the big boys up front to open up the holes,” he said. “I know I can depend on them and when the holes open up, you have to run through it. They can depend on me when I get to the second level. That’s all a credit to the O-line. None of the things I have would be possible. Everything starts in the trenches.”

District showdown turns wild

With a 14-3 loss to Central the week before, Zachary found itself hosting Catholic on Nov. 7 with an opportunity to share in the District 4-5A championship. The visiting Bears jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and appeared they may run away from the Broncos.

Ruffin’s stellar night began with consecutive touchdown runs of 55 and 1 yards, respectively, to pull Zachary with 17-14. 

Catholic extended its lead to 31-14 and 44-21 when Ruffin scored on a 2-yard run with two minutes left before halftime.

“Going to Zachary High, they always say there’s a standard you have to live up to and you’ve got to be that standout guy,” Ruffin said. “When I got to Zachary, I saw how Connor Wishman hit the hole and ran. That was the standard I had to live up to. I had to be that standout guy that the team could rely on.”

Catholic’s lead grew up 59-34, but Ruffin scored twice in the third quarter on runs of 42 and 18 yards, the second after the recovery of an onsides kick, which left the Broncos staring at a 59-48 deficit. 

The deficit remained 11 points (66-55) after Ruffin’s final TD of 13 yards with five minutes to go, but the Bears managed to add another score in the final minute of play.

“I had to get it going, be the guy that coach Brew always says, and live up to the standard that people put before you,” Ruffin said. “I knew I had to turn into that mode where every time I touched it, it had to be a first down or touchdown. We had to pick it up because we started off slow.”

Another 300-yard effort in a winning effort 

Zachary built a commanding 21-0 lead in the first quarter of last week’s bi-district playoff game with Sam Houston.

Ruffin remained in the same zone he thrived in the previous week with scoring runs of 2 and 68 yards, respectively. He added a 6-yard score in the second quarter for a 28-7 lead when the visiting Broncos from Moss Bluff rallied with three touchdowns to make it 28-all at halftime.

“Like coach Brew says, never let your foot off of their neck,” Ruffin said. “We kind of let our foot off. We talked offensively about it at half. We had to come back and out show those dudes that we’re here to stay and were going to keep fighting and let them win. The holes were open up front, I did my job and everyone else did their job all around and came with the ‘W’. 

Ruffin was at the heart of Zachary’s second-half resurgence.

Ruffin scored on a 65-yard run two minutes into the third quarter, igniting a stretch of 26 unanswered points, and carrying Zachary to a 19-point victory. He added touchdowns of 13 and 28 yards in the third quarter, the second of which was set by an interception from Michael Septs.

Placekicker Rafael Costa also booted a pair of field goals from 27 and 32 yards to account for the team’s scoring, setting up a road trip for Zachary to race Ruston where one of the two state finalists will be eliminated in the second round this season.

“When you’re on the field there is nothing hurt unless it’s something serious like a concussion,” Ruffin said. “You’ve got to play through it, you’ve got to keep going. I know my team needs me and that I’ve got to keep going. You can’t be soft with a minor injury. You’ve got to keep going. You can’t be a poodle and cry about everything. Get it taped up and do what you’ve got to do and produce for the team.”