Nobody in NCAA Division II has carried the football for more yards this season than Hillsdale’s Shea Ruddy. The sophomore currently leads the way with 1,378 all-purpose yards, which is a combination of yardage in rushing, receiving, and returning.

“I’d like to keep it up and hopefully end the season there,” Ruddy said. “I want the team to succeed, and I’m trying to do everything I can to get us there.”

Four weeks into the season, Ruddy led all of college football in all-purpose yards, including NCAA Division I and III.

“You never would guess it by the way he acts or talks, because he’s humble,” sophomore wide receiver Collin Davis said.

Head coach Nate Shreffler said Ruddy’s statistics result from both his physical talent and his strategic instincts.  

“He’s a great athlete, first off, and so he has skills to do a lot of different things,” Shreffler said. “He has just a real natural feel for the game of football and puts himself in the right places at the right times.”

Ruddy started to play football in third grade and was quarterback at Whiteford High School in Ottawa Lake, Michigan, where he broke several school records.

After Ruddy attended football camps at Hillsdale College, however, the coaches decided he would play wide receiver and return kicks and punts, where he has excelled, according to Shreffler.

“He’s had two touchdown returns this year, which is in and of itself pretty unique,” Shreffler said. “In my 26 years, I’ve seen four of them here. He’s gotten two of them.”

If Ruddy continues through the final four games of the season at his current pace, he’ll finish the year with 2,165 all-purpose yards. This would break Hillsdale College’s current record of 2,093 all-purpose yards gained in 2002 by Kevin Clive.

Ruddy’s younger brother, freshman Ryin Ruddy, is also on the football team. He said some of his brother’s motivation on the field comes from being the second of five boys.

“I think having four brothers growing up was kind of a built-in way to push yourself,” Ryin Ruddy said. “We live on a property with our cousins, too. So at one point there were all five of us and probably 10 other boys on the property. When we were younger, I remember every single weekend we would go out and play football.”

Ryin Ruddy said he’s glad to see his brother at the top of the rankings.

“It’s amazing, but it also brings a little bit of competition because I want to show that I can do the same thing,” Ryin Ruddy said.

Shea Ruddy not only excels on the gridiron, he also pushes himself in school, and plans to pursue medical school after college, according to Ryin Ruddy.

“He’s obviously a phenomenal football player, and probably could be somewhere else if he wanted, but he wants to be here,” Ryin Ruddy said. “He knows he’ll get a great education.”

Davis said Ruddy’s statistics not only show his skill but also the effort of the team.

“We’ve really worked hard in practice,” Davis said. “It takes all 11 guys to open up the field for him. And he wouldn’t be afraid to admit that either.”

Ruddy said he did not realize how much he was running. He said he was just doing his job as a wide receiver when he found out how high his ranking was.

“I had no idea until one of my teammates sent me the link to the stats,” Ruddy said. “I obviously knew I was running a lot, but not that much.”

Shreffler said he hopes to continue to give Ruddy many opportunities on the field.

“We’ve got to get the ball in his hands,” Shreffler said. “We’re going to try to do that as many ways as we can.”