Leap of faith leads Ruffin to West Virginia, power five

Aug. 20, 2018.

It’s a date that is forever burnt into the memory of Malachi Ruffin. In large part because that’s when he took a massive leap of faith and bet on himself by trying out for the West Virginia football team.

Unlike many players on a college roster, Ruffin was not invited to play for the Mountaineers. The North Carolina native always had eyes on the football program but never received any interest. Or really any interest from colleges for that matter as he looked to follow his dream.

It wasn’t that Ruffin wasn’t productive as he finished with 59 tackles and a pair of interceptions while earning second-team all-conference honors at Nash High School. But while his coaches made attempts to connect with college programs it never amounted to anything.

Now, a college freshman – Ruffin had a decision to make. So, he made the leap. West Virginia had always been a school that piqued his interest due to following their players over the years so heading to Morgantown made sense. He could have tried at a smaller level, but Ruffin had a goal.

“I took a risk; I’m going to West Virginia. They might not know who I am, but I want to make a name for myself. I’m going to walk on come as a student and try out and see what I can do from there,” he said.

So, Ruffin did just that. He attended the walk-on tryouts with his roommate that hot August day and competed against around 50 others during the event. He understood that if he wanted to make an impression he had to standout so he relied on his best asset, his speed.

After running the 40-yard-dash and catching the attention of the coaching staff. He was asked to do it again. The rest is history as Ruffin was invited onto the team and his story has only continued to grow.

Now, five years later Ruffin, who was one of four players selected during that try out, is the last one remaining. His efforts were also rewarded with a scholarship offer in August of 2021. That is a moment that will always be special to Ruffin in large part because it was affirmation of his choice.

A far cry from what many told him when he wanted to chase the thought of playing power five football.

“I had two people tell me straight to my face you’re going to go division three,” he said.

That doubt helped to motivate him over the years and during his time with the football program Ruffin has not only appeared in 33 games but started 5 of those last season.

While he was primarily a special teams player through the first part of his career, his efforts there are what helped to again catch the coaching staff’s attention. Ruffin again found a way to make himself stand out and that grew his role last season to where he was asked to play over 400 defensive snaps.

Some of that was out of necessity due to injuries, but as can be expected Ruffin didn’t back down. He even split time between the safety and cornerback spots in order to help his team in any way possible.

“It's a testament to him he's done a great job playing both positions but that is extremely unfair to him,” safeties coach Dontae Wright said.

That even included a moment that he’d rather not remember when he was caught prematurely celebrating what he believed to be a pass breakup against Oklahoma State. The ball was actually caught by Brayden Johnson and he would race down the sideline for a 42-yard gain.

Still, all of it is part of his story the good and the bad.

“You have to have a short-term memory through good and bad plays,” he said.

Along with his playing time, Ruffin also has grown in other ways becoming more vocal in the process. While he didn’t lack confidence, Ruffin had to learn how to express himself over time.

“He was very quiet, very introverted and never talked – now the game of football has given that kid confidence. He walks with a different aura now,” secondary coach ShaDon Brown said.

From walk-on try outs to power five starter, it’s a story that doesn’t happen often at this level.

But Ruffin is living it and the redshirt senior has one season left to take it all in.

“Hard work doesn’t go unnoticed,” he said.

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