Arizona State OL transfer Joey Ramos excited about finishing college career at home

Joey Ramos admits he had second thoughts about his college choice when it was snowing and the wind chill factor was in the negative degrees.

The Deer Valley High School product had a lot of college choices but signed with Iowa State. It was quite a different environment for an Arizona teenager. But after four years at that school, Ramos has returned home to finish out his eligibility with the hometown Sun Devils.

"The worst thing was the first winter. It was a negative 60 wind chill. I'd had three or four jackets on, a bunch of sweats. I'm thinking, 'Do I really want to be here for four years?' It was brutal."

Ramos stuck it out though. It may be the age of the transfer portal which makes it easy for athletes to come and go when the first thing goes awry, but Ramos said it was important to fulfill his commitment to that school. He got his degree in business management and is now pursuing a master's in sports business law at ASU.

He's also matured since leaving the nest in 2018 so he got a lot out of his experience in  Big 12 territory.

"It's everything I could have asked for. It was a good experience getting out of Arizona and experiencing everything at Iowa State and I'm grateful I did it because it forced me to grow up, formed me into who I am now," said Ramos, who has two years of eligibility remaining. "I decided to take a chance, go out to nowhere, didn't have any family, didn't have any prior connections out there. It was just a leap of faith."

The 6-foot-5, 305-pounder has been a welcomed addition to an ASU squad that is looking to rebuild an offensive line, that lost three starters, two of whom are now in NFL training camps in left tackle Kellen Diesch (Miami Dolphins) and center Dohnovan West (San Francisco 49ers).

He's perhaps the most versatile veteran of the unit with the ability to play three different positions.

Ramos had been the starter at right tackle for the Cyclones in 2020. He was part of a unit selected as one of 11 semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award which goes annually to the nation's top offensive lines.

Ramos and his unit helped the team break a school record for rushing touchdowns (31) and post the second-best scoring offense (32.9) in school history.

But halfway through the season he sustained a right foot injury and was never able to win his starting job back. He even told his coaching staff he'd move to center and while he didn't get playing time there he was able to practice at that spot which added to his versatility.

Earlier this week ASU offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas singled out Ramos as a player that has impressed him.

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Unlike ASU's other transfers on the offensive line Des Holmes (from Penn State), Chris Martinez (from San Diego State) and Emmitt Bohle (Division II Northern State), Ramos was not here for spring practices but he is quickly making up ground.

“He’s been fantastic. He’s only been here a couple of weeks, few months for some of the summer," Thomas said. "He's been detailed, conscientious, learning the system. To be able to play three positions at the offensive line says a lot for him and what he’s been able to accomplish in the short amount of time he’s been here. So (I'm) excited about what he’s doing and to his credit, there’s been no ego involved. He’s not saying, ‘Oh coach, you got me playing all of these positions.’ He’s like, ‘Hey, you need me at center, I’ll do it. You need me at guard, I’ll do it.’ So hats off to him for that.”

The first time he picked a college Ramos had a final six that included ASU and Iowa State, along with UCLA, Oregon Washington and Arizona. Ramos says ASU was in his final two so it was only natural he come back here to finish his eligibility and earn an advanced degree. He hadn't forgotten a conversation he had with head coach Herm Edwards when he informed him he was picking another school.

"The one thing that really stuck out to me is when I did decide to make my decision to Iowa State, I decided to call coach Edwards and I was like, 'Hey, I appreciate the opportunity, like I do appreciate it being home. I'm thankful for you guys.' And he was like, 'Hey man, if you ever want to come back home, you just let me know.' So as soon as I hit the portal and I saw him call, I was like, 'Man, it's just, it's meant to be right now.'"

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Ramos sees his college career coming full circle. "When I saw the opportunity of coming home, there wasn't any negatives to it. I was home. It's a great program that is on the rise. There are great coaches here that know what they're talking about, The ability to come home, I just couldn't pass it up."

Odds and ends

- Defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson has been preaching two things, "attitude and effort" because those are things in the athlete's control. Well new defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera has added a letter and come up with his own acronym.

"Donnie (Henderson) came in and he was talking effort and attitude.  I told him you got to add the T, for toughness because we gotta EAT. That’s what we have to bring as a defense, add that T to it."

- Offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson has been named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Preseason Watch List.  That award is given to the top offensive player in the nation with connections to the state of Texas. Henderson played at Waxahachie High School in Texas. The inclusion on the Watch List comes after Henderson earned a spot on the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference second-team offensive line.

- The Sun Devils have not made their week-long trip to Camp Tontozona since 2019 because of the COVID pandemic since players are lodged in cabins. They are skipping that tradition again this season but will be taking a one-day excursion there on Saturday for team-bonding purposes. It is a team event and not open to the public.

Reach the reporter at Michelle.Gardner@gannett.com or 602 444-4783.  Follow her on Twitter @MGardnerSports.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU football's Joey Ramos excited to finish his college career at home