Guthrie native Nathan Ruhman stuck out on among fellow eighth graders on the basketball court.
Ruhman, who now stands 6’4 and weighs 250lbs, played basketball until his sophomore year of high school when his coaches suggested he give football a try because of his size. At team camp that year one of the defensive lineman didn’t show up, so Ruhman was told he was starting.
“I was like ‘Shoot,’ Ruhman said. “And that’s when I fell in love with (football). It’s a habit because I’ve done it basically every day for the past three years.”
The last three years have seen Ruhman go from an imposing presence on the hardwood to a force in the trenches on the Guthrie Bluejay football team. Ruhman, a defensive lineman, has racked up many awards, most recently being recognized as an honoree at the OKC metro high school sports awards. He earned a scholarship to play at Oklahoma State University and will be majoring in kinesiology there this fall.
Ruhman’s steep rise to athletic excellence hasn’t been simple. Ruhman said he was bounced around a lot in foster care as a youth, making a consistent athletic environment difficult to find. It is no coincidence his football career took off when it did.
“I had a lot of ups and downs, especially being in foster care moving from house to house. My parents that adopted me, they were really focused on my football career,” Ruhman said. “It has been a tough journey, but perseverance will get me through.”
It was perseverance, not awards, that got Ruhman into collegiate football at the highest level.
“I was not expecting any of my awards or anything, I was playing football to play football,” Ruhman said.