Pat Ruel left his heart in DeKalb.

Ruel quit his job as coordinator of the Huskies’ nationally-ranked offense to take a similar position at Kansas under new head coach Glen Mason. Ruel said he accepted the offer after a lot of soul searching Jan. 11.

“It’s probably the roughest decision I ever had to make,” Ruel said. “Everything in my heart told me to stay for the players and the program. My gut told me to make the move for my career. I’m very ambitious to be a head coach someday.”

Ruel, who is already on a recruiting trip in Dallas for the Jayhawks, said the move will help him establish a reputation in another conference. He has also coached in the Pac-10 at Washington State and in the Southwest Conference at Texas A&M.

“The No. 1 reason for the move was the exposure factor of the Big 8,” he said. “I’ve always been in situations where we’ve been rebuilding. This is another opportunity to prove my talent.”

NIU head coach Jerry Pettibone said Monday he has named Mike Summers to fill the offensive coordinator position. Summers will continue to coach the running backs. He said the offensive line, which Ruel also coached this past season, will need a new tutor.

“The offensive philosophy will not change,” Pettibone said. “I want to keep the continuity. We need to hire the best offensive line coach we can find with wishbone experience.”

Kansas Sports Information Director Doug Vance said no one has been hired officially by Mason. He said a “few coaches have been employed under an emergency basis. The university can’t hire them until the affirmative action process is completed.”

Mason replaced Bob Valesente Dec. 30 to take over the Jaykawk program which had a 1-9-1 record last season. Mason came from Kent State, where he posted 5-6 and 7-4 marks the past two years. Mason’s team defeated Kansas 31-17 in the second game for each team in 1987.

Ruel said his relationship with his new boss dates back to when Mason was an assistant at Ohio State under Earle Bruce. Ruel was offensive coordinator at Washington State and his offense scored 29 points against a Buckeye team that went to the Rose Bowl.

Ruel called the plays for the Huskie wishbone offense that established NIU records with 4,420 yards, 701 rushes and 244 first downs this past season. However, Ruel said he is not sure if he will be able to use the wishbone the same way at Kansas.

“I want to run the same basic things we did there at Northern, but I can’t really determine that until I see the abilities of the players here,” Ruel said.