Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 20, 2025 53 T revor Ruhland didn't realize how memorable his Notre Dame football career truly was. Though he never became a permanent fixture on Notre Dame's offensive line, Ruhland started 11 games in the final two years of his five seasons with the Irish from 2015-19. His career might not have been marked by incredible individual blocks or highlights that played on a loop, but his legacy lived in the form of his physical sacrifices to play for the Irish. Ruhland refused to cut his college ca- reer short despite three knee surgeries, two torn pectoral muscles, a torn la- brum in his shoulder, a broken elbow, a broken ankle and a broken nose. He even shared with reporters during his final season at Notre Dame that he was told he shouldn't be playing anymore due to the state of his knee. When Ruhland reached out to me in late July about a long-form writing project he'd been working on, I knew exactly who he was. And yet he still in- troduced himself, via direct message on X/Twitter, as a former player. As if there was any way I'd forgotten. After spending time reading the 7,000- plus words Ruhland shared with me, I started to understand why he didn't want to assume I remembered him. He expe- rienced so much in nearly six years since college that he was grappling with his own identity beyond his football career. Ruhland was interested in Blueand- Gold.com publishing his story, and it was the easiest decision to make. It was so compelling that all we had to do was not mess it up. With Ruhland's permission, I had senior writer Eric Hansen give some feedback, and we came up with a three- part series to capture the struggles and triumphs of his post-playing career. The hardest part in sharing Ruhland's story has been trying to summarize it. Ruhland developed an eating disorder on a weight-loss journey that led to him los- ing 150 pounds. He became so weak that he couldn't carry a backpack through the airport. He leaned on the support of his wife, Nina, and his family to regain his strength and a healthier relationship with food. Ruhland underwent a knee replacement at just 27 years old. As he's physically recovered, he's also worked on redefining a purpose in his life. It's an incredibly personal and mov- ing story. I've been a full-time writer for more than 13 years, and I can't do it justice with my own words. Maybe this excerpt Ruhland wrote will help: "The process of rebuilding has been agonizingly slow. For months, just walking without a limp felt like an im- possible dream. But recently, the light at the end of the tunnel has become a real- ity. I just started to jog again, a simple act that felt like a monumental triumph. And incredibly, I just finished walking a marathon. It's a testament to how far I've come, a quiet victory in a life that once celebrated only the loudest ones. "This challenge, this ongoing physi- cal reality, will always be a part of me. There's no undoing the wear and tear. But when I look back, even with the sur- geries, the pain, the fear, I can honestly say: it was all worth it. "To live the dream of playing college football at Notre Dame, to follow in my father's footsteps and experience that unique brotherhood and challenge — my only regret is only having one body to give to Notre Dame. It was worth every single ache, every scar, every single moment." After everything Ruhland experi- enced, he remained incredibly grateful. He searched for purpose rather than someone to blame. The courage to share his story with an often-judgmental pub- lic should absolutely be commended. His story, which ran on BlueandGold. com during Notre Dame's off week, has been wonderfully received. It became the most-viewed story in the last month on our website. He's since been given more opportunities to share his story elsewhere, including an invitation to speak on a college campus later this fall. That was Ruhland's purpose all along. He wanted to share his story with the hope he could help others who are deal- ing with similar struggles. In the middle of a football season when players are judged for what they're doing on the field, it's a good reminder of what they may deal with away from the game. Ruhland's story wouldn't matter any less if he'd never been able to start a game during his Notre Dame career. It matters so much more that he was will- ing to tell it in the first place. "If sharing my journey can offer even a sliver of hope, a moment of recognition, or a push toward seeking help for some- one else feeling lost," Ruhland wrote, "then every painful step was worth it." ✦ Ruhland wrote a three-part series for BlueandGold.com about his post-career struggles with an eating disorder and finding a purpose away from football. PHOTO COURTESY TREVOR RUHLAND Trevor Ruhland Shows Courage In Sharing His Story Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES