Awards and Honors:
2024 NFF Hampshire Honor Society
2023 CSC Academic All-District
2023 UAC All-Academic Team
Athletics Director's Honor Roll (F23)
2023: Played in all 12 games and made 11 starts at safety… Tallied eight tackles and a half tackle for loss in his Austin Peay debut at Southern Illinois (Sept. 2)… Had five tackles and a tackle for loss at Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 23)… Recorded five tackles – all solo stops – and an interception with a 19-yard return at Lindenwood… Had a career-high 12 tackles – with nine solo stops – and a pass breakup at Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 4)… Added eight tackles in the FCS Playoffs First Round against Chattanooga (Nov. 25)… Ranked fifth on the team with 65 tackles while ranking second with 42 solo tackles… Finished the season with 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and a pass breakup… Was named to the UAC All-Academic Team and the CSC Academic All-District Team.
Prior to Austin Peay: Spent his first four collegiate seasons at Princeton (2019-22). 2022: A First Team All-Ivy selection after recording 37 tackles (22 solo), three interceptions, and three passes defended while playing all nine games… Notched season’s first interception at Lafayette (Oct. 8) while recording three tackles… Had interceptions in back-to-back Ivy League games: Notched a season-best eight tackles and an interception at Harvard (Oct. 21) and followed that game with seven tackles (six solo) and a pick against Cornell (Oct. 29)… Nominee for AllState AFCA Good Works Team. 2021: Recorded 29 tackles (27 solo), two interceptions, and three pass breakups and played in all nine games… Picked off season’s first pass against Stetson (Sept. 25)… Had an interception and two pass breakups against Yale (Nov. 13)… Closed season with a season-best six tackles at Penn (Nov. 20). 2020: The Ivy League did not compete in football during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2019: Played in all nine games as a true freshman.
High School: Played defensive back for head coach Trey Perry at Mt. Juliet High School… Named Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Class 6A All-State Team at defensive back as a senior… A three-time all-region selection… National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete… Finished career with 212 tackles, six tackles for loss, three interceptions, 14 pass breakups, three fumbles recovered, three fumbles forced, and three defensive touchdowns.
Personal: Michael Deon Ruttlen Jr. is the son of Michael and Cecilia Ruttlen… Birthday is June 7… Has three siblings: Maurice, Will, and Mikesha… His cousin, Robert Massey, was drafted in the second round of the 1989 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints and played ten years in the league before becoming the head coach at Winston-Salem State in 2021… His cousin, Carlton Davis III, is a cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and helped the Bucs win Super Bowl LV… Graduated from Princeton in May 2023 with a bachelor’s in molecular biology… Pursuing a master’s in public health.
