Prep QB earns Georgia scholarship … before he earns a start
Brice Ramsey may not be walking the same storied path as David Sills, who famously committed to USC at the ripe old age of 13. Still, Ramsey and Sills have one very striking thing in common: Both quarterbacks landed a major college scholarship before they earned a single high school start.
According to the UGASports.com and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Michael Carvell, Ramsey chose to attend Georgia at the school's recent "Dawg Night" recruiting camp, picking the Bulldogs above other scholarship offers from Florida, Florida State and Clemson. Understandably, the Camden County (Ga.) High passer decided to pick a school close to home (well, relatively close; Camden County is actually closer to Florida State than it is Georgia). He is among the first commits from Georgia's Class of 2013.
"I have a really good relationship with [Georgia head football coach Mark] Richt and [Georgia offensive coordinator Mike] Bobo," Ramsey told UGASports.com. "I'm really excited about it. I think with [Georgia's fellow Dawg Night commitments], we can start building our championship team."
While Ramsey's college choice makes plenty of sense, it is harder to understand how so many top college programs are already sold on a pro-style passer who has hardly thrown a single high school pass.
Sure, Ramsey has plenty of the physical traits that would point to future success. He's tall (Ramsey already stands 6-foot-3, with the chance for more growth in the coming years), he allegedly has an extremely powerful arm and nearly won the Camden County starting job as a true freshman.
Instead, Ramsey broke his collarbone in the lead-in to the 2009 season, and his replacement -- then-junior Joel Ruiz -- led Camden County to the Class AAAAA state title. As a defending champion, the Camden County coaching staff couldn't justify benching Ruiz to give Ramsey the starting role for the 2010 season.
All of that created a bizarre scenario where Ramsey spent more time working with Camden County's punting unit than he did throwing passes. Despite that, he's already now a future Division I quarterback.
"When you see Brice in person and watch that ball come out of his hand, it doesn't take long to know he's a special player," Camden County coach Jeff Herron told the Journal-Constitution. "I'm not a great evaluator of quarterback talent, I'm sure, but you can watch him for a second and see it. The colleges went crazy over him in the spring.
"Brice has that 'it' factor. I can't put my finger on it. But whatever it is, he has got it. … I can't say enough about him. It's like God looked down and said, 'This is what a quarterback is supposed to have' and gave it to him."
And, if Ramsey does take off the way college scouts anticipate he will in the coming season, would he consider other major college programs in other parts of the country?
It certainly doesn't sound like it.
"I was amazed that [Georgia] wanted me like that." Ramsey told the Journal-Constitution. "My recruiting is over."
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