Ruiz, IMG O-line prepares for Rashan Gary, the No. 1 player in the nation

BRADENTON -- To face the best football player in New Jersey, Cesar Ruiz had to come to Florida.

The IMG center, a Camden, N.J., native, spent his first two years of high school playing for Camden, a public school in a part of Jersey where top skill players far outnumber the quality linemen.

For two weeks, though, the top-ranked center in the Class of 2017 has been studying Rashan Gary, the top player overall in the Class of 2016 and a fellow New Jersey native. With a bye week ahead of the Ascenders' meeting with New Jersey's Paramus Catholic, Ruiz has had extra time to prepare for IMG's toughest individual challenge of the season -- the five-star defensive tackle with offers from Michigan, Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Clemson and virtually any other college football brand name.

"The top guys are all skill players," Ruiz said of his hometown. "I've been against a big D-tackle at St. Joseph (Regional), I go against Rashan. I finally get to play that Jersey talent that I want to play."

Even a few weeks ago this would have been a challenge the Ascenders' young offensive line may have been unprepared for. IMG (6-0) began the season with only one senior lineman -- Ohio State-commit Tyler Gerald --and he's been out for most of the month.

After leaving Shea Patterson on the run for most of the Ascenders' preseason game against Plantation American Heritage, the line has made things easy for the Mississippi-bound quarterback. Patterson has thrown for 14 touchdowns this season and only two interceptions, both of which came in IMG's win against New Jersey's St. Joseph Regional.

Gary is a different sort of challenge than even the best defensive linemen the Ascenders have matched up against this year. At 6 feet, 4 inches and 311 pounds, Gary is a physical load who's versatile and athletic enough for the Paladins (3-3) to occasionally use him as an edge rusher or even at tight end.

"Physically, he's a freak," head coach Kevin Wright said. "He's just an incredible athlete for a kid that size.

"I can see why he's rated that highly and why people project him the way they do."

In Bradenton, the Ascenders are perhaps the best team in the nation equipped to prepare for the nation's top player when he visits IMG Academy Stadium at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Ascenders defensive tackle Shavar Manuel stands at 6 feet, 5 inches and 190 pounds, and is the No. 8 player in the country. On game days, Ruiz has gotten to face the sort of players he always hoped, including the Green Knights' 300-pound defensive tackle Ibn Foster.

"When you're at a traditional high school, like a public high your scout team really is just like a scout team," Ruiz said. "Our scout team is equivalent to a pretty good team's starting defensive line, so we're getting a good look every day in practice."

Paramus also has the depth to make a game plan strictly revolving around Gary virtually impossible. Next to Gary is Corey Bolds, a four-star junior defensive tackle, and the Paladins can swing both out to defensive ends, making it impossible to double-team Gary without leaving Bolds relatively unattended.

Working junior defensive linemen Cam Spence and Joshua Kaindoh with Manuel against IMG's starting offensive line has given the front a variety of styles to deal with, sometimes at the same time.

"We have some guys on defense that we practice against every day that are similar," Wright said. "We're not going to have a younger kid try to simulate Rashan Gary."

The preparation for this game hasn't been too noticeably different, though, even with Gary's name lingering around the practice fields on the IMG Academy campus. The Ascenders' offensive line has developed into a strength against one of the hardest schedules in the country and Patterson has only been sacked three times during the regular season.

The preseason loss back in August to American Heritage, when IMG managed only seven points against the Patriots' overwhelming front, has become just a blip on an otherwise almost entirely spotless resume for the Ascenders' offense this season.

"From American Heritage to now, we're a whole different offensive line," Ruiz said. "We're more technically and physically sound. We're ready to go."

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Ruiz, IMG O-line prepares for Rashan Gary, the No. 1 player in the nation ."