Team welcomes transfer on
his birthday
By Doug Healey
Staff
Writer
Transfer Jarod Ramirez received a special present
from the Purdue football team last Wednesday on his 20th Birthday —
the first day of spring football practice.
"I didn’t tell anybody about that," he said.
Ramirez, who was an honorable mention Academic
All-American as a sophomore at Fresno (Calif.) City College, was able
to transfer to Purdue a semester early and join in spring workouts because
of a grade exemption.
His academic success is one of the main reasons
he chose to transfer to Purdue.
"This is the best combination between academics
and football," said Ramirez, a business major. "Coming out of junior
college I had a 3.8 cumulative GPA, so I was definitely looking for
an academic school."
Ramirez was also drawn to the coaching staff.
"I'm coming to a great program with a great coaching
staff," he said. "The fact that they went to the Rose Bowl was just
sugar on top."
Ramirez, a 6-4, 256-pound junior defensive end,
said he has adjusted well to his new environment with the help of his
new teammates.
"They're all great guys," he said. "They've welcomed
me with open arms and they've made it a pretty easy adjustment. They're
always inviting me out and being friendly."
Ramirez said it was a great feeling to be on the
practice field for the first time with his new team.
"It was nice — just looking around and taking
it all in and saying 'Hey, I'm big-time now, Division I, Big Ten. It's
awesome. It's an awesome feeling just looking around and seeing all
of the black and white jerseys."
He said the feeling of being here has not sunk
in yet.
"It still hasn’t really registered," he said.
"Growing up watching Big Ten football, they just seem so elite. Maybe
I'm still in awe a little bit that I'm actually here and it'll all come
rushing to me the first game when I step on the field."
Ranked as the No. 41 junior college player in the
country by Superprep, Ramirez was a first team all-conference selection
last season and helped lead Fresno to an undefeated conference season
and a berth in the Hawaiian Punch Bowl.
As a sophomore, Ramirez had 48 tackles, 11 sacks
and six forced fumbles. He's up against tough competition, as starters
Akin Ayodele (9 sacks) and Shaun Phillips (7 sacks) return at defensive
end.
But Ramirez, who has been seeing action with the
second team defense, still wants to showcase his talents for the coaching
staff.
"Right now I just want to move up the depth chart
and have the coaches expecting good things out of me — just show
them what I can do," he said.
He's just trying to work as hard as he can.
"I want to come in right away and put in an effort,"
said Ramirez. "I've got a redshirt year if I need it, but I really don’t
want to do that. I want to play two years and graduate."
Defensive coordinator Brock Spack said Ramirez
has shown him some ability in practice.
"He's a real hard worker, and that's three quarters
of the battle at this level," said Spack. "Our program really rewards
guys like that."
Spack said that even though Ramirez played against
good competition in junior college, the Big Ten is another level and
will require an adjustment.
"The game is so much faster," Spack said. "He's
going to have to get used to that. It's going to take a lot of practice
time working against our linemen, who are pretty physical. But I think
he'll do well because he's smart and he's a hard worker."
Although Ramirez has only been with the team for
this semester, Spack sees leadership capabilities in the transfer.
"I think his intensity and work ethic will rub
off on guys," Spack said. "And I think he'll be a good leader down the
road when he gets the feel of things."
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