Former Flyer paving way for Texas State
Bobcats are 2-1 going into Southern Utah
St. Joseph graduate Winston Ruelas (68) awaits a snap earlier this season. Ruelas is a junior offensive lineman for the 2-1 Texas State Bobcats.
Print- •
-
Share
- Share this item
-
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
- Blog about it
- Close
- •
-
Post a Comment
- •
Favorite- •
Winston Ruelas sees similarities between the start of this season and last season, but knows his Texas State team can't let up if it wants to repeat as Southland Conference champions.
Ruelas, a St. Joseph graduate, is in his redshirt junior season in San Marcos. He played eight games his first year as a reserve, started six games last year at left offensive guard and started the first game of this season. A knee injury took him out of the starting lineup the last two games, but he's ready to get back on the field.
"We have started out a lot like last season," said the 6-foot-3, 300 pound tackle. "But we all know it's one of those things where any Southland Conference team can win against the other teams. On any given Saturday, it's almost anyone's game. There are a bunch of good teams and it's going to be a tough road to win a conference championship."
The Bobcats are off to a 2-1 start with wins over Angelo State and Texas Southern. The only loss came to No. 11 TCU in a 56-21 defeat in Fort Worth. The next test comes at Southern Utah before opening SLC play at home against Southeastern Louisiana State.
Ruelas, who is the son of St. Joseph offensive coordinator Romeo Ruelas and the brother of Flyers' running back Kamen Ruelas, said he feels at home in the Bobcats' offense which racked up 525 total yards in last Saturday's 52-18 win over Texas Southern.
"I really know our offense better and what we're trying to accomplish from week-to-week," Ruelas said. "Not just me, but I feel our entire offensive line knows the playbook and what to do."
Texas State went 8-5 last season and won its first conference championship since 2005. This season the expectations are high, but Ruelas said the team continues to work hard to achieve a second straight title.
"We're not ready to talk about playoffs, but it's in our minds and we're working to get back to championship form," he said. "We can only grow from what we did last year and I think we can take it even further."
Ruelas is an exercise and sports management major at Texas State and plans on pursuing a high school coaching position after graduation. Becoming a college recruiter isn't in the plans for him right now, but he has been talking with his younger brother about his future and the possibility of the two being on the same team.
"Our coaches have seen him and are talking about him a lot to me," Winston said. "It's going to be interesting in the spring when the recruiting season comes around to see what happens. It's his decision, but it would be a lot easier on my mom and dad to come to the games if we're both here. He's a great athlete and is going to do great wherever he goes."
If Winston does decide to do a sales job for Texas State, one of the major points would be the relationships that are forged on the team.
"We are all a real tight group that have developed into great friends," Ruelas said. "I'm enjoying everything about being here. From football to school, I couldn't really ask for anything more."
Brandon Brinkley (Bay City) had six tackles and three pass breakups in Houston's 29-28 win over Texas Tech on Saturday. Brinkley also forced a fumble for the No. 12-ranked Cougars. Caleb Urban (Memorial) returned a kickoff 87 yards for a Trinity touchdown in a 24-6 conference loss to the Millsaps Majors on Saturday. Da'Marcus Griggs (Bay City) caught 11 passes for 141 yards and a 13-yard touchdown as Texas State cruised past Texas Southern. Tre Gray (Cuero) scored on a 17-yard pass and finished with six receptions for 112 yards in Richmond's 38-28 win over VMI. Kyle Noack (Cuero) was 7-for-10 passing and ran for 51 yards to lead Mary Hardin-Baylor to a 41-8 win over McMurry on Saturday. Rocky Vaclavick (Edna) had five tackles for the Cru who improve to 3-0 on the season. Kier Wells (St. Joseph) and Aaron Buckley (Palacios) each recorded one tackle each to help Texas A&M-Kingsville to a 23-17 overtime win over West Texas A&M on Saturday. Anthony Smith (Bay City) rushed for 63 and returned two kickoffs for 43 yards in Texas Lutheran's 32-21 loss at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall. Trey Parma (Yorktown) had three tackles and a pass breakup for the TLU defense.
Lauren Alkek (Memorial) played 86 minutes in the University of Oklahoma's 3-2 win over Texas A&M on Sunday. Alkek had one shot in a 2-1 loss to the University of Texas last Friday.
Haley Phillips (Calhoun) has eight assists and 12 digs in Concordia's 29-27, 25-13, 20-25, 25-19 win over Sul Ross. Jenae Cantu (Gonzales) contributed six service returns in the Tornadoes win. Nicole Cowan (Yoakum) contributed five kills and three blocks in a 25-23, 19-25, 16-25, 22-25 Mary Hardin-Baylor loss to the University of Dallas. Cowan also had seven kills in a win over UT-Tyler.
