Cesar Ruiz thinks about his father every day. When he steps onto a football field, whether it was at the University of Michigan or at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine, he’s playing through his dad.

At the age of eight, Ruiz lost his father, who was assisting someone change a tire on the side of the road. It was a life-altering moment for the young Ruiz, and something he admits to thinking about every day. But he also finds strength in his father as he continues to pursue a career in professional football.

“Every night, every day I think about it,” Ruiz said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “If my dad was here to see what I’m doing right now, he’d be mind blown. I’m still playing for my dad. I still play through my dad. My dad still lives through me. That’s how it’s always going to be.”

Ruiz decided to pursue an NFL career after his junior season with Michigan, and it was the right time to do so. While he’s still considered by most to be an early second-round selection in the NFL Draft, Mel Kiper Jr. tabbed Ruiz as a potential late first-round guy, with his stock rising as the draft approaches.

Make no mistake, Ruiz also believes he’s good enough to be a first-round selection, too.

“Projections are just projections, I’ve got to make it happen,” Ruiz said when asked what he thinks of first-round projections. When asked if he believes he’s a first-round talent, the former Michigan center simply said, “Yes, I do.”

Ruiz was then asked to explain why.

“If you look at the film, if you look at how I dominate people, if you look at my character, how smart I am, I have everything that ties with being a first-rounder. I’m very confident in myself that I am a first-rounder.”

Strong character circles back to Ruiz’s father.

Ruiz prides himself on doing things for other people and trying to do the right things in life. It’s something his father taught him at a young age, and another way for his dad to live through him.

“That’s what I pride myself o, doing things for people, being a good person,” Ruiz said. “The way it happened, he was doing something good and being a good person, you really wouldn’t want it any other way.”