CEDAR FALLS - Academically, his major is construction management.

On the football field, James Ruffin wants to build his reputation as one of Northern Iowa's best defensive leaders.

A year ago, Ruffin made the all-Missouri Valley Football first team as an end. He's a preseason choice to do it again in 2008, and head coach Mark Farley said the 6-foot-4, 265-pound junior from Burnsville, Minn., will be a key to the Panthers' success this fall.

It's a job Ruffin embraces.

"We do have a veteran defense," said Ruffin. "But my role is gonna increase every year. I feel like one of the leaders on this team now, and I need to do things to help the team win, more so now than last year."

While toiling in a football helmet and shoulder pads, Ruffin is making plans to wear a different kind of helmet down the road. His interest in construction fades back to childhood. As a Boy Scout, for example, Ruffin built the small cars used in the traditional race known as the Pinewood Derby.

"Eventually, I want to have my own construction business," said Ruffin. "I've always liked working with my hands and building stuff. Nobody else in my family has done that. It's just something that's interested me growing up."

Sports also caught Ruffin's interest. At Burnsville, he competed in track and field, basketball and football. As a fullback-linebacker, Ruffin started for three years in high school.

When he landed at Northern Iowa in 2005 for his redshirt year, he was an h-back - a hybrid fullback-tight end. It didn't take long for the Panthers to pave a different road for the kid from Minnesota.

"The first day,I got moved to linebacker," said Ruffin. "I didn't know that was going to happen. They tried me at outside backer. That didn't work out for me, so I put on some pounds and some muscle. I tried defensive end, and that worked out for me."

According to UNI defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, it took a little bit of time, but Ruffin found his niche. Hours of workouts pointed him in the right direction.

"He was not very physical coming out of high school," said Montgomery. "When we moved him to the d-line - hey, you gotta be physical right away.

"So we do the drills in the chutes where you come out and bang, one-on-one, all day long. It's just a toughness drill. And the kid saw that he was tough. He could hang with the big boys. From there, it was history."

Ruffin, in his first year of competition, started UNI's final six games and seven overall. Getting all-newcomer honors in Valley Football, he made 26 tackles, including one sack.

That 2006 season turned out to be a foundation. Ruffin's stops jumped to 47 last fall. He was credited with 3 1/2 quarterback sacks. And the MVFC welcomed him to its all-league team, much to his surprise.

"I knew I had a big role coming in, being on the newcomer team (in 2006)," said Ruffin. "But I wasn't expecting to be an all-conference performer. It just happened to work out that way."

The construction management major plans to use that award as a tool for the upcoming season.

"It definitely boosts your confidence," he said. "But it also gives you a certain kind of pressure. You need to be a leader of that defensive group. You have to go out and produce. That's basically what they're telling you. I'll use that to motivate myself to go out and be one of the best."

Ruffin said he pursues excellence with emotion, power and quickness. To the junior defensive end, football means going as hard as you can as fast as you can.

"It's just playing with leverage - getting that mindset of not letting anyone push you around," said Ruffin.

Meanwhile, Montgomery expects Ruffin to keep pushing - and constructing an even better football player.

"The sky's the limit - he's got all the ability in the world," said the UNI defensive line coach. "We've just got to get it out of him each and every day."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com

Panther profile

James Ruffin

Position: Defensive end

Height: 6-4

Weight: 265

Class: Junior

Hometown: Burnsville, Minn.

Career highlights: In 2007, Ruffin earned a first-team spot on the all-Missouri Valley Football Conference squad at the end of fine sophomore season. He ranked second among UNI defenders with eight tackles for loss and third in sacks at 3.5. Some of his best games came at the biggest moments. Against Iowa State, Ruffin tallied a season-high six tackles. During his redshirt freshman year (2006), he started seven times and was named to the all-MVFC newcomer unit.

Quote: "We do have a veteran defense, but my role is going to increase every year. I feel like I'm one of the leaders." James Ruffin.