2026 OL Dean Ruksnaitis One To Watch During Mass. Showcase

Dean Ruksnaitis‍ acknowledged being a little anxious heading into last Sunday’s Under Armour Next camp in New Jersey, but the 2026 Massachusetts offensive lineman settled in just fine early.

“I think it went pretty well,” the 6-foot-3, 270-pounder said afterward. “I had to shake off the nerves a little bit. That's the first thing I've done like that for camp stuff. I shook off the nerves as soon as I got in there and everything after the stretch felt good.”

The Williston Northampton School standout said it was encouraging to compete with and against so many other top guys in the Northeast.

“The work that I'm putting in behind the scenes, my offseason work, it feels really good that I can go out there and prove that I can play with a lot of these guys who are higher up in the rankings,” he said.

“I've been working a lot on my speed for pulling and stuff like that. That's one thing I want to get down. And then just being in the gym every day.”

Ruksnaitis, who figures to play center in college, saw his recruiting process kick off for real in January, when he received an offer from Boston College.

“It was a very surreal moment,” Ruksnaitis said. “I grew up watching BC. I'm from about 45 minutes away from BC. Me and my dad would always talk about it, joking around when I was a little kid playing youth football. Then to have Coach (Matt) Applebaum offer me, it was a pretty surreal moment, definitely.”

The next day, Ruksnaitis doubled his count by adding an offer from Old Dominion. 

He’s also received interest from Syracuse, Rutgers, Wake Forest and Mississippi State.

He hasn’t mapped out his summer schedule yet.

“I'm waiting until after our showcase on the 14th to get my camp schedule set down to see what happens after that,” he said, referring to Williston’s showcase as part of next week’s Northeast Show Days, which will give college coaches the opportunity to see top talent across Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey on back-to-back-to-back days.

It’s still early, but Ruksnaitis has an idea of what he’s looking for in a college.

“Somewhere that feels like home,” he said. “I know a lot of guys say that, but they also want a winning program and obviously I would love a winning program, but I'm going to choose somewhere where I feel like I can excel there as a player and as a person more than anything else. 

“Somewhere where I feel like I'm wanted.”

Looking to join a Fighting Irish community and get the latest scoop? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD

Wes & Willy Navy Notre Dame Fighting Irish Floral Volley Swim Trunks