Watch WCPO's Facebook Live Wednesday at 3 p.m. when Caleb Noe and Tanya O'Rourke of The Flying Pigskin Podcast sort through the rumors and answer your questions about the upcoming NFL Draft!
Peyton Ramsey is confident and grateful as the NFL Draft approaches April 29.
The 2016 Elder High School graduate isn't worried about mock drafts or speculation the next two weeks.
His resume speaks for itself with what he accomplished at Northwestern University and Indiana University.
"He's got that winning DNA, and there is some teams out there that are falling in love with him largely because of those intangibles, for sure," said Chris Martin, Ramsey's agent.
RELATED: Flying Pigskin's Pre-Draft Show on Facebook Live
Ramsey, a former captain at IU and Northwestern, is focused on what he can control in order to try to fulfill a lifelong dream of playing in the NFL.
"You can read all the mock drafts you can read, all the articles - whatever you want to read - nobody truly knows anything," Ramey told WCPO Friday morning.
"You've got to sit back and try to relax the best that you can, which is a hard thing to do because you work so hard to get into this situation."
Ramsey said Friday morning he's had Zoom interviews with Minnesota, New Orleans, Arizona, Denver and Tampa Bay.
"It's been cool; it's been unique," Ramsey said.
"Drawing something on a whiteboard here at my house and then flashing it up to the screen, it's kind of a harder way to do things, I think. I know for a fact that these NFL coaches are not a fan of this process right now, but it's all part of it. It's a cool experience for them to try to learn as well, but also for me to try to articulate myself and prove that I can make things work even in a virtual setting."
Ramsey, the Citrus Bowl MVP this past January, discovered similar questions from NFL personnel throughout the handful of interviews.
NFL teams had likely already researched Ramsey's film and character entering the virtual interviews. They wanted to know how he communicates and delve into his football IQ.
"When they're getting on an interview logging onto Zoom, it's not about what I did in the past," Ramsey said.
"It's about how in this moment I can articulate a certain play or how I can articulate a defense or a coverage so they just want to get to know me more, and I think that's kind of been the common theme - just drill me with questions and see how I can answer those."
Martin predicts four or five quarterbacks will be taken in the first round.
He said the general consensus is that Ramsey is in the top 10 or 11 quarterbacks of the draft and should be in the mid-to-late round conversation. There are seven rounds of the draft.
"I think the best thing for him is, he's your quintessential leader," Martin said. "When I talk to teams, I'm like, 'This is a guy that won at two places and that's been a captain with a 'C' on his chest at both.'"
Martin said Ramsey is seen as a low-rep quarterback, meaning he can step into a game right away if necessary with few reps in practice.
"He just really gets it," Martin said. "He has great command, great presence. You can tell he can step in and galvanize the huddle and get people ready to play. And I think that's why he was able to help Northwestern turn it around."
Ramsey was a graduate transfer this past season and helped to lead Northwestern to the Big Ten championship game in December 2020. The Wildcats went from a 3-9 season in 2019 to the Big Ten West title during a unique season through the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Winner, gritty, leader, great teammate," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said this past season.
"Unflappable, mature, experienced and just a joy to be around, just to name a few."
Ramsey, who has nearly all of Elder's career passing records, excelled at the Northwestern pro day March 9 and completed all his pass attempts.
"I think the biggest box that he checked was how well he threw the ball at pro day," Martin said.
Martin said NFL personnel saw Ramsey throw with a lot more velocity than what they could've scouted on film.
"With this profession that I'm trying to get into I think that's all you can do is control the things that you can control, because there is so many things that are out of my reach," Ramsey said.
"I did everything that I could. I walked out of there as happy, as elated, as I possibly could be because I know I did everything."
Elder football coach Doug Ramsey, Peyton's father, said he's trying to stay patient as his son approaches draft weekend.
"It's hard because you know he's put so much time and effort into this to live out a dream," Doug Ramsey said.
"He's wanted to do this for forever and to see him have to wait this out and find out what's going to happen – you know as a parent it's a hard thing. And it's probably going to get even worse."
Peyton Ramsey just returned from Tampa and plans to conduct additional workouts locally in preparation for the draft. While in Florida, he had time to reflect on his football journey.
"To think about all the guys that I've met, guys that I've played against – it's really, really special," Ramsey said.
"And I don't take any of that for granted. Like you said, it's a business. I want to make it. I want to play football for a long, long time. But, I do think you do got to reflect and just be grateful for all the opportunities that you've had throughout the years."
You can watch the 2021 NFL Draft live on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network. The first round starts Thursday, April 29, at 8 p.m. Tune in for the second and third rounds Friday, April 30, at 7 p.m. The draft concludes with rounds four-seven on Saturday, May 1, at noon.
