Bryce Ramirez fully healthy, leaning on experience for success
Texas Tech’s defense for the upcoming season has been one of the biggest curiosities of the offseason. With so many impressive transfers brought in along with key returners, one of the Red Raiders’ biggest strengths is their depth. One of those returners is linebacker Bryce Ramirez, who hasn’t had a full, healthy season as a starter.
After a season-ending injury in 2022, Ramirez has had many setbacks since then, but hasn’t let it sway him from his end goal: playing in the NFL. He spoke to the media on Thursday to discuss his past injuries and his experience during his time at Tech.
Facing adversity
During the 2022 season, the Red Raiders traveled to Raleigh to play NC State, the game in which Bryce Ramirez suffered a compound fracture in his lower leg. Complications continued to affect him, and during the 2024 season, doctors realized there was a bone infection in the leg that suffered the injury. After fixing injuries in his leg and shoulder during the offseason, Ramirez is healthy for the upcoming season.
“I feel great. It’s probably the best I’ve felt in like two and a half, three years,” Ramirez said. “I’m just fired up to be back and actually feel fully healthy and not be worried about anything going out there.”
Even after going through almost three seasons of injuries, Ramirez has continued to stay positive.
“I’m blessed to even be able to play college football, let alone actually play snaps and play on the national stage,” Ramirez said. “It (injuries) just comes with it. My foundation with God, he gets me through it all. Even with the bone infection, that was probably one of the hardest times in my life… my faith is what got me through it all.”
Experience in college football
In this era of college athletics, not many players stay in the same place for their entire collegiate career. However, Ramirez not only remained with Tech his whole career, but he will be entering his seventh year of college football. He made the team as a walk-on in 2019 and has stayed ever since. He has seen a lot of football and believes his experience is one of his biggest strengths.
“You’ve seen so much film wise, you’ve seen so much playing you kind of know what’s happening,” Ramirez said. “All those reps, they stack up, and it allows you to play a lot faster and allows you to have more fun, really, on the field because you don’t have to worry about what’s coming or what I have to do in this play… it’s very beneficial.”
Now going into his final year of eligibility, Ramirez has continued to improve his game and has learned how to view it differently, which makes his job easier.
“It slowed down a lot for me. When you first come in, everything is fast. That’s the biggest change from when you first get to college, the speed of the game,” Ramirez said. “Now I’m more mature, I know what I’m doing, and I’m bigger, faster, stronger as well… I feel like that’s probably my biggest growth area, understand the scheme and I’m able to play faster.”
The ultimate goal for Ramirez
Many college football players are working towards playing in the NFL one day. The same dream is big for Bryce, and even with a tough past few years and many challenges in his path, he didn’t want to give up his dream.
“I feel like I have so much to prove, so much to prove to myself and to everybody else,” Ramirez said. “Nobody recruited me to come here, it was a choice. Just proving that I belong and proving that I know what type of player I can be and being the best player I could be. I wouldn’t be coming here for my seventh year if I wouldn’t try to get to the next level. I don’t want to give up that dream when I still have the opportunity to do so.”
