If USC football secondary coach Doug Belk puts Kamari Ramsey on the spot with a direct question during a position meeting, the safety is expected to provide an answer in front of everybody.
It’s an intentional move by Belk, one designed to instantly guide Ramsey into a moment of leadership.
“The biggest thing is one-on-one, challenging him,” Belk said. “He prides himself on being very detailed and doing things right, so you’ve got to find your spots to really press him and coach him in different ways.”
Ramsey has the intelligence and physical talent to become a desirable NFL draft pick, but it’s his newly developed verbal leadership abilities that have made him a stronger person.
“He wasn’t super comfortable being at the front of the room or being the position group leader or one of the alphas,” Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley said. “As time has gone on, he’s matured. He’s gotten more comfortable in those scenarios. He’s been willing to put himself out there a little bit more, knowing that our team and our defense needs that from him.”
Quiet confidence, fierce play
Ramsey, a redshirt junior, carries a quiet confidence backed up by his fierce play in myriad positions across the secondary, something that can be traced back to his high school career at Sierra Canyon.
He started every game in his four seasons at the school except for one – he was only 13 years old when he arrived on campus as a freshman and ineligible to play on varsity for the first game.
“We knew from the minute we had him here that he was going to be special,” Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “I thought he was an NFL-level talent, and so far he’s proven me right.
“He was just always in the right spot. He was super knowledgeable, understood concepts in football and understood how to communicate with his teammates. Exactly what he is for USC.”
Ramsey lived in Palmdale, but either his mom or dad, who both worked in the San Fernando Valley, dropped him off at Sierra Canyon every morning on their commute.
Ellinghouse said that in 25 years of coaching, he’s seen fewer families closer and more supportive than Ramsey’s. He still talks with his father weekly, catching up on how Ramsey is doing at USC and speculating if he will stay in college or enter the NFL draft.
Humility, work ethic and competitiveness were three pillars of the family that helped make Ramsey who he is and gave him his “why” – his intrinsic motivation behind every repetition.
“At an early age, I knew if my parents sacrificed this much for me, then I gotta make them proud and put my best foot forward each day for them,” said Ramsey, who out of Sierra Canyon played one season at UCLA, recording 40 tackles and four pass deflections and allowing just 11 catches on 23 targets.
“Even when you have your bad days, (it gives me) something to look back on and be like, ‘OK, this is why I do it.’ So when those bad days come – because we’re all human, we’re all gonna have bad days – when those days come just be like, ‘I’m doing it for a reason. I’m not here just to be here.’”
Intelligence leads to production
His “why” was laced into all 60 of his tackles last season, which ranked third on the team. On top of that, he tallied 5.5 tackles for a loss of 26 yards and two sacks for a loss of 19 yards, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one interception and a QB hurry.
Intelligence allows Ramsey to float through multiple positions in the secondary, moving quickly and freely into open spaces where would-be offensive crescendos are quickly silenced. From high in the defensive backfield, Ramsey sees it all.
“I always tell guys it’s kind of like math,” said defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, whom Ramsey followed from UCLA to USC after the 2023 season. “You go from Algebra to Algebra 1, and now you’re in Algebra 2. There needs to be a progression, and he progresses every year. You’re able to put more and more on his plate. You see him understand the game more.”
Ramsey watches football at all levels, taking mental notes of what the defensive backs are doing, what the defensive line is doing, what scheme the offense is running, how the offense sets up plays and how that affects the next play.
He was given the green dot in 2024, which signifies a player’s ability to communicate with the defensive coordinator through an in-helmet microphone. The team hasn’t announced who will wearing the green dot this season, but Belk said at USC football media day in July that he “would be shocked if he wasn’t.”
Affecting those around him
Awareness is a critical part of Ramsey’s game, and he’s spreading his knowledge to his teammates beyond making sure they’re lined up correctly on the field.
“He’s a guy that everybody looks up to,” redshirt freshman cornerback Braylon Conley said. “He takes in the younger guys. Freshmen, he takes them in for sure. Makes sure they’re up to speed and know what they’re doing, making sure that we all know adjustments and things like that.”
Ramsey returns to Sierra Canyon often, still the quiet warrior as when Ellinghouse first met him. He watches games and practices, and even gave a pragmatic, memorable speech at the Trailblazers’ fall training camp that stressed the importance of making the most of high school opportunities.
Everyone listened.
A mural of notable Sierra Canyon football players is printed on the walls of the Sierra Canyon football offices, making Ramsey a constant presence at the school. He’s right behind Ellinghouse’s desk.
“Because I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Ellinghouse said.
The coach trusts that Ramsey will be the high school program’s first NFL player, just as Belk trusts that he will answer pointed questions when ambushed in team meetings.
“Trusting each other, that’s the main thing,” Ramsey said. “Trust that your brother’s going to do the job. Play within the scheme and trust your brothers and trust yourself so that when the play comes to you, you’ll make the play.”
