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_(cropped).jpg) Ruggs in 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 11 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1999-01-24)January 24, 1999 (age 27) Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 188 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Robert E. Lee (Montgomery) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Alabama (2017–2019) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2020: 1st round, 12th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Henry James Ruggs III (born January 24, 1999) is an American former professionalfootballwide receiver who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for two seasons with theLas Vegas Raiders. He playedcollege football for theAlabama Crimson Tide, where he was a member of the team that won the2018 College Football Playoff National Championship. Ruggs was selected by the Raiders in the first round of the2020 NFL draft.
During his second season, Ruggs caused a motor vehicle collision that killed the driver of another car. He was released by the Raiders the same day. Ruggs pled guilty todriving under the influence andvehicular manslaughter in 2023 and was sentenced to between three and ten years in a Nevada state prison.
Henry James Ruggs III[1] grew up inMontgomery, Alabama.[2] In the eighth grade, he was promoted to thevarsity football team for the final two games of its season.[2] He attendedRobert E. Lee High School.[3] He did not playhigh school football until his junior year and received his first scholarship offer after just his second game on the gridiron.[2] As a senior, he had 38 catches for 639 yards in nine games.[4] He scored 20touchdowns: nine catches, seven rushes, three passes, and one kick return.[5] Ruggs also played basketball and ran track in high school; his100-meter dash time of 10.58 seconds was the Alabama High School Athletic Association's class 7A record.[6] In 2017,247Sports.com ranked him as the second-best high school football player in Alabama.[7] Ruggs received scholarship offers from more than 20 colleges to play football; he chose theUniversity of Alabama.[6][8][9][10]
As a true freshman at Alabama in 2017, Ruggs had 12 receptions for 229 yards and six touchdowns.[11] As a sophomore in 2018, he had 46 receptions for 741 yards and 11 touchdowns.[12][13] As a junior in 2019, he had 40 receptions for 746 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.[14] During his junior season, Ruggs was also the team's primary kick returner and averaged 23.8 yards per return.[14] His 24 total career receiving touchdowns places him third on Alabama's all-time leaderboard.[5] On January 6, 2020, Ruggs announced that he would forgo his true senior year and enter the2020 NFL draft.[15]
| Season | Team | Class | GP | Receiving | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||||
| 2017 | Alabama | FR | 14 | 12 | 229 | 19.1 | 6 |
| 2018 | Alabama | SO | 14 | 46 | 741 | 16.1 | 11 |
| 2019 | Alabama | JR | 12 | 40 | 746 | 18.7 | 7 |
| Career | 40 | 98 | 1,716 | 17.5 | 24 | ||
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Wonderlic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | 30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) | 10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 6 ft2+1⁄2 in (1.89 m) | 4.27 s | 1.43 s | 2.52 s | 42.0 in (1.07 m) | 10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) | 20 | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[16][17] | ||||||||||||
Ruggs ran a 4.27-second40-yard dash at the 2020NFL Combine that was the year's fastest time by any prospect by .08 seconds, and it tied for the fourth-fastest ever at the event since electronic timing began in 1999.[5][18] Ruggs'vertical jump was measured 42 inches, tied for second-best among wide receivers at the 2020 combine.[19]
At the2020 NFL draft, Ruggs was the first wide receiver to be drafted.[20] TheLas Vegas Raiders selected him with the 12th overall pick, their first since moving from Oakland earlier in the year.[21] Ruggs was also the Raiders' second consecutive first-round pick of a player from the University of Alabama, joining 2019 first round running backJosh Jacobs.[22] On July 21, 2020, Ruggs signed a fully guaranteed four-year contract worth $16.67 million, with a team option for a fifth year.[23]
On September 13, 2020, Ruggs made his NFL debut in the season opener against theCarolina Panthers, including making his first career catch.[24] During Week 5 against theKansas City Chiefs, Ruggs recorded his first 100-yard game, with 118 receiving yards, which included his first career touchdown, a 72-yard reception.[25] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on December 15, 2020,[26] and activated on December 24.[27] Ruggs finished his rookie year with 26 receptions, 452 receiving yards, and two touchdowns in 13 games played.[28]
In the 2021 season, Ruggs had 24 receptions, 469 receiving yards, and two touchdowns in seven games.[29]
Ruggs was released on November 2, 2021, the day he was involved in adrunk driving car crash which killed the other driver.[30] His less-than-two-season stint with the Raiders totaled 20 games, 1,197 all-purpose yards, and four touchdowns.[31]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Returning | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2020 | LV | 13 | 12 | 26 | 452 | 17.4 | 72T | 2 | 9 | 49 | 5.4 | 12T | 0 | 7 | 141 | 20.1 | 32T | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2021 | LV | 7 | 7 | 24 | 469 | 19.5 | 61 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 5.3 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 70 | 17.5 | 22T | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 20 | 19 | 50 | 921 | 18.4 | 72T | 4 | 12 | 65 | 5.4 | 12T | 0 | 11 | 211 | 19.2 | 32T | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
Ruggs credits his friend Roderic Scott with encouraging him to play football in high school.[7] Scott died in a car crash at 17 years of age, and Ruggs would honor him with a three-fingered salute after every touchdown because Scott wore number 3 on the basketball court.[7] Ruggs' brother Kevontae playedcollege football forOle Miss in 2018 before transferring toEast Mississippi Community College in 2019.[32]
In April 2020, Ruggs partnered with Three Square, a southern Nevada food bank, to donate meals to those in need because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[33]
On May 7, 2020, Ruggs' daughter was born to his long-term girlfriend Rudy Washington.[34][35][36]
In December 2025, it was reported that Ruggs completed his bachelor's degree from theUniversity of Alabama with a 4.0 GPA. Ruggs was named on the President's List his final semester.[37]
On November 2, 2021, Ruggs rear-ended another car at high speed inSpring Valley, outside ofLas Vegas. 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her golden retriever, Max, were burned to death in the fatal collision, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and county prosecutors.[38] Ruggs was charged withdriving under the influence resulting in death andreckless driving.[39]
Hours before the incident, Ruggs and his girlfriend, Kiara Kilgo-Washington, were seen drinking at aTopgolf location on theLas Vegas Strip inParadise.[40] They left after midnight in hisChevrolet Corvette.[41] Police produced digital evidence shortly thereafter showing that, at approximately 3:39 a.m., driving 156 miles per hour (251 km/h), Ruggs slammed into theToyota RAV4 driven by Tintor.[1][42][43] The Clark County Coroner determined that Tintor and her dog burned to death as her vehicle was engulfed in flames following the collision.[44]
Ruggs and Kilgo-Washington were transported to theUniversity Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMCSN) with non-life-threatening injuries.[45]
Upon his release from the hospital, theLas Vegas Metropolitan Police Department booked him into the Clark County Detention Center.[46] Ruggs appeared in court the following day, and Judge Joe M. Bonaventure set bail at $150,000.[47]
Police reports showed that Ruggs had refused to take a field sobriety test, and his blood test, taken two hours following the crash, revealed ablood alcohol content of 0.161%, more than twice the legal limit inNevada.[48] Ruggs' defense attorney,David Chesnoff, argued that Ruggs was unable to submit to a field sobriety test because of the injuries he sustained in the accident, and claimed that the blood test should not be admissible as evidence since the police did not haveprobable cause to obtain a blood test.Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman rejected Chesnoff's arguments and ruled the blood test admissible as evidence in the case.[49]
On May 10, 2023, as part of a plea agreement, Ruggs pleaded guilty to one count of felony DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. Prosecutors said they reached a plea deal due to concerns the blood draw would be thrown out, and with it the only evidence to support the felony DUI charge. They were not willing to chance Ruggs only facing charges of reckless driving, which could have only resulted in probation. He was sentenced on August 9, 2023, to spend between three and ten years atHigh Desert State Prison in Nevada.[50][51][52][53]
By 2024, Ruggs was working at theNevada Governor's Mansion whilst serving his sentence under the community trustee inmates program. Ruggs is up for parole in 2026, and he is eligible for credit for time served as part of his work program.[54]
As of December 2025, the Nevada Department of Corrections reported that Ruggs has been transferred from a minimum-security transitional housing facility in Las Vegas to a medium-security prison in northern Nevada, for undisclosed reasons.[55]
The Las Vegas Raiders released Ruggs hours after the incident on November 2, 2021.[56]
Various football players and coaches made public statements.Derek Carr, a former Raiders teammate, said Ruggs needs to be loved and that "if no one else will do it, I'll do it". Interim head coachRich Bisaccia said, "We want to express our sincere condolences to the victim's family".[57]Kadarius Toney, then on theNew York Giants, drew criticism for seeming to ignore the gravity of the situation and excuse Ruggs when he tweeted, "We young…..everybody make mistakes… he know he messed up don't drag em for it……that's goofy to me…."[58]Nick Saban, who coached Ruggs on theAlabama Crimson Tidecollege football team, said, "We're going to support him through it, but we also have a lot of compassion for the victims, and our thoughts and prayers are also with them."[59]
QuarterbacksTua Tagovailoa andJalen Hurts, who both played with Ruggs at Alabama, also spoke on the matter. Tagovailoa said, "You'd never think this guy could hurt a soul, so when you see something like that – I mean, I'm still kind of in disbelief. But, obviously my heart goes out to the family that has been affected by it. But my heart also goes out to Henry as my teammate, ex-teammate." Hurts said, "It's unfortunate to see a situation like that unfold, and I'll just kind of leave it at that. It hurts my heart for everybody involved."[60]
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