Daniel Eugene Ruettiger (born August 23, 1948) is an American motivational speaker and author who played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

He attended Joliet Catholic High School and played for locally famous football coach Gordie Gillespie.

He enrolled and attended nearby Holy Cross College, and after two years was accepted as a student at Notre Dame on his fourth try, in the fall of 1974.

Ruettiger harbored a dream to play for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, despite being undersized at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) and 165 lb (75 kg).

[2] For example, Notre Dame's 1969 starting center, Mike Oriard, was a walk-on who was eventually nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship and earned an NFL contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.

In Ruettiger's last opportunity to play for Notre Dame at home, Devine put him into a game as defensive end against Georgia Tech on November 8, 1975.

During the final home game of Ruettiger's senior season with the Fighting Irish, he recorded a sack,[6] which is all his Notre Dame stat line has shown.

[10] Ruettiger's story was told in the 1993 feature film Rudy, which starred actor Sean Astin in the title role.

Ruettiger appeared in a cameo as a fan behind his father, played by Ned Beatty, during the final game scenes.

"[16] In 2017, at age 68, Ruettiger was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Highland, Utah.