Five minutes with ... Mike Rucker
Mike Rucker, a former standout defensive end at Nebraska (1994-98), announced his retirement from the NFL last week after nine seasons with the Carolina Panthers, the only team for which he played as a pro. A native of St. Joseph, Mo., the 33-year-old Rucker has family living in Omaha and Lincoln, and is married to an Aurora native. He and his wife have three children, ages 6, 4 and 1. The Journal Star’s Steven M. Sipple caught up with Rucker last week.
Earlier this spring, you traveled to Afghanistan to boost the spirit of U.S. troops. You said it was a life-changing experience. Why?
“For one thing, I had never been outside the United States. Also, to be able to go halfway across the world to help bring a smile to people’s faces — something as simple as that goes a long way. Once you get over there and you’re sleeping next to guys, talking to guys, eating with guys who don’t know what the next day holds for them. ... The rest of us can walk out of our house and jump in our cars without worrying about a roadside bomb or a sniper. They’re keeping that stuff away from here. It just hit me smack-dab in the heart what the ultimate price is for freedom. It doesn’t come free. The least we can do is keep the troops in our prayers. I think sometimes we forget exactly how much they put on the line. It’s just like a police officer or fireman here at home. But a lot of the troops are in harm’s way every single minute. I respect and admire them. If I wasn’t involved in football, I’d probably be in either the Secret Service or military. It just tugs at me.”
You and safety Mike Minter played together at Nebraska, then in the NFL. Could you talk about your relationship with Mike?
“Being able to go to college and win national championships — that’s special. Then, when you think about it, the odds of both of us going to the league, then the odds of us going to the same team and playing nine or 10 years with that team, and the odds of us retiring with that team — most people wouldn’t take that bet. As time went on, we got closer and closer. We have the same goals in mind. I mean, that’s my best friend. When you can find good friends who are going down the same path you want to go down, you have to keep those friends. I truly believe God has blessed us with our friendship and our families.”
OK, you’re 33 and retired from the NFL. What’s next in your life?
“It’s interesting. When I first got to Carolina, Donnie Shell, our player development guy, told me that I needed to start preparing for retirement. I told him, ’I just got here, Donnie, why are you talking about retirement?’ He said your career is going to go by fast and you need to be prepared. So, I started doing internships every year to figure out what I wanted to do. Fast-forward to now. It’s going to be tough not playing football, because I’ve been playing ball for 23 years. Now that it’s not there, it’s going to be an adjustment. But I tried to help myself by preparing for that adjustment. For instance, I have a full-service real estate company (in Charlotte, N.C.). We do residential, commercial and relocation. That’s something I’ve really loved, is the real estate world. There’s so much going on that it keeps me going. So, between Vision Group Realty, Ruckus House (child-care facilities with Christian values that Rucker and Minter helped establish) and my family and being in the community, it makes me a well-balanced man. That’s what’s in front of me.
“You know, being able to give to this community (Charlotte, N.C.), being able to come back to Lincoln and Omaha and St. Joe, and giving in those areas — I think that’ll keep me busy for a while.”
You must be very proud of your brother Martin Rucker, the former Missouri tight end who’s now preparing for an NFL career.
“We’re 10 years apart. When I was at Nebraska, he was around 10 years old. I remember him always hanging over the fence, just being a little kid. After games, we’d always go over to our duplex, and just seeing him interact with all of these big guys … he was just this snotty-nosed little kid that you just didn’t think twice about. You never thought about him doing what he’s about to embark on this weekend (with the NFL Draft). I kind of chuckle. When I talk to him now, he says how much that meant to him, taking part in those days with (former Huskers) like Jason Wiltz and some of my other roommates at the time, like Jay Foreman and Dorrick Roy and Eric Warfield. He told me how it was neat that you guys would bond and come together and eat and hang out. It was neat to hear him say that. The way we carried ourselves kind of paved the way for him. But he made his own mark. It’s Mike’s little brother. But he didn’t get all this because of Mike.”
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