The Lincoln native began his Husker football career in 2001, at which point Ruud got his first cell phone. He left in 2004 as Nebraska’s all-time leading tackler, embarked on an NFL career that employed him in Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Texas, and never once ditched his 402 area code number.
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean Ruud had planned to someday return to Nebraska as an assistant football coach.
“Well, I sold my house in July, so I didn’t think it would happen this soon,” Ruud said, laughing as he sat back in his chair in his new office at North Stadium.