As a senior, he elected as one of the team's captains and was selected as a second-team All-America and first-team All-Independent by The Football News and the Associated Press.
Ruddy also posted a perfect 4.0 GPA his junior and senior years at Notre Dame.
During most of his career, he was the center for Dan Marino, who has held almost every meaningful NFL passing record and is widely recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history.
During Ruddy's 10 years with the Dolphins(1994–2003), the team made the playoffs 7 times, and never posted a losing record for the season.
The last year of Ruddy's career was plagued by injury and his playing time was limited.