Tragically, Ruiz lost his father at the age of eight years old. His father, who was also named Cesar, was hit by a car on the side of a South New Jersey highway after he pulled over to help another drive fix a flat tire. Ruiz started playing football at the age of 10 to cope with the loss.
Ruiz didn’t think he was going to be the 24th pick originally, but got the call from the Saints with about two minutes left on the clock. Ultimately, he got the call from Jeff Ireland and Sean Payton. When asked, Ruiz was confident in saying that he could play any position across the interior line, pointing out that that’s where his versatility comes into play.