Jalen Ramsey

Jalen Ramsey (born October 24, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State.

Early years

Jalen Ramsey was born on October 24, 1994 in the Nashville suburb of Smyrna, Tennessee to Lamont and Margie Ramsey. His father is a member of the Nashville Fire Department.^[1][2] Jalen's older brother Jamal participated in football, basketball, and track at Battle Ground Academy and played quarterback at Middle Tennessee State University where their father had once played ball.^[2] Jalen perfected his football skills playing with much older boys at a local park.^[2] He grew up cheering for the Miami Hurricanes in a family of Florida Gators fans.^[2]

High school career

Ramsey attended Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tennessee, during his freshman year. He then transferred to Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee, where he was a two-sport superstar in football and track. He was rated by both Rivals.com and Scout.com as a five-star recruit and one of the top overall recruits in his class.^[3][4] He originally committed to the University of Southern California (USC) to play college football, but later changed to Florida State University.^[5][6]

Ramsey had a highly decorated high school track career. On May 24, 2013 in his final high school track meet, he shattered the Tennessee state record in the long jump with a mark of 25′ 3.25″, breaking the 16-year-old record set in 1997.^[7] As of 2016, no other athlete in TSSAA history has surpassed the 25-foot mark.^[8] Ramsey competed in events ranging from the 100 meters to the shot put. As a sprinter, he recorded personal best times of 10.50 in the 100-meter dash, 21.44 in the 200-meter dash, and 48.02 in the 400-meter dash. Ramsey established personal bests in the high jump at 6′ 8″ and the triple jump 47′ 7″. He also posted a top throw of 49′ 11″ in the shot put.^[9]

College career

Football

Ramsey started all 14 games as a true freshman in 2013. He was the first true freshman to start a game at cornerback for the Seminoles since Deion Sanders in 1985.^[10][11] Ramsey chose jersey No. 17, a number that had been retired in honor of former superstar Charlie Ward who granted Ramsey permission to wear the number.^[2] He finished the year with 49 tackles, one interception and one sack.^[12] He also competed on the Florida State Track & Field team, placing third at the 2014 ACC Indoor Championship in the long jump (7.46 m). As a sophomore, Ramsey played 14 games with 2 interceptions, 12 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 sacks on 80 tackles. As a junior, he played 13 games with 1 sack, 9 passes defended, and 1 fumble recovery on 52 tackles. After his junior year, he announced his intentions to enter the 2016 NFL Draft.^[13]

Track and field

Ramsey competed in track & field at Florida State as a relay sprinter and long jumper. He was a three-time All-ACC honoree as a member of the Florida State Indoor and Outdoor championship track and field team in 2013. He placed third in the long jump at both the indoor and outdoor ACC T&F Championships and ran a leg on the conference champion 4x100 relay team at the outdoor meet. During the 2014 season, his best outdoor long jump mark was 25' 0" (7.59m) and his top indoor jump was 24' 11" (7.59m), ranking No. 2 nationally among NCAA Division I football players. Ramsey qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary meet in the long jump.^[9]

In March 2015, Ramsey recorded his personal best jump of 26' 1.75" at the NCAA Indoor Championships.^[14] In May 2015, Ramsey won the ACC Long Jump Championship with a leap of 26' 1.5" (7.96m), only 3 inches short of the automatic qualifying mark for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.^[15]

Professional career

Ramsey showcased his well-known athleticism at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine, where he was a joint-top performer in the broad jump and vertical jump.^[16] In early March 2016 Ramsey was predicted to be a top 3 pick in the 2016 NFL draft.^[17][18][19]

On April 28, 2016, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Ramsey with the fifth-overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft.^[21]

On May 19, 2016, Ramsey suffered a small meniscus tear during rookie training camp. He had microfracture surgery on the same knee in his sophomore year of high school.^[22] On May 22, 2016, Ramsey signed a 4-year deal worth $23.3 million featuring a $15.1 million signing bonus.^[23] On May 24, 2016, Ramsey underwent surgery to repair the meniscus.^[24]

References

External links

• Jacksonville Jaguars bio
• Florida State Seminoles bio