Small-town success: A look at Caden Ramsey’s journey to Gamecock commitment
Tyra Ramsey did her best to control her emotions.
Ramsey almost cried, but didn’t, as she watched her son and Cross High School tight end Caden Ramsey announce his college choice Monday at the school’s auditorium.
It would have been easy for Tyra, the Berkeley County School District director of transportation, to shed a few tears. She just lost her mother in May, and her mom was one of Caden’s biggest fans.
Tyra also remembers what she went through during her pregnancy with Caden, as well as his journey to becoming a Division I athlete.
“To be honest with you, the doctor told me I shouldn’t have him. He said it wasn’t going to be a viable pregnancy,” Tyra Ramsey told The State on Monday. “I prayed about it and prayed about and said, ‘Lord I am going to trust you.’ He had some complications, but he has been an athlete since birth. When the teacher asked in preschool at 2 years old what he wanted to be, he said he wanted to be a football player.”
Tyra Ramsey was not on board with any suggestion to not have the baby.
“They said he would never be functional and all these different things,” she remembers doctors telling her. “It bothered me so much, and I paid the extra money for scans at MUSC. Finally, I said I will deal with it when it gets here. I had him with no complications. Of course, he took a little while to read and all those things. But with the support system, I was able to put him into private school because of a scholarship at Miracle Academy. There were some old school teachers that did old school methods and got him started.”
Athletically, he is a multi-sport standout who plays football, basketball and track and field at Cross, which is about 90 minutes southeast of Columbia.
On the football field, Caden seemed like a natural from his time playing pee-wee football. At the age of 5 years old, his mother said she was playing up two or three levels with older kids.
Cross head coach Shaun Wright remembers seeing Caden play when he was younger. His athletic ability and talent were obvious.
“I didn’t know how tall he was going to get,” Wright said. “He was always a leader on his rec teams, on the JV teams and now on the varsity.”
The 6-foot-5 Ramsey has been on varsity since his freshman season, and he’s had his share of ups and downs in his career. Wright told a story before Ramsey made Monday’s announcement about the time he had to suspend him for a game during the playoffs in 2023. Ramsey slammed his helmet down after the Cross quarterback threw an interception in a second-round win against Allendale-Fairfax.
Ramsey wasn’t allowed to play the following week against Bamberg-Ehrhardt, and the Trojans lost the game, 41-6.
“He took his helmet and threw it in the ground. I had to suspend him because that was a no-no for me,” Wright said. “He was on the sidelines and was a great cheerleader during that time, and a lot of growth happened through that. He has been the leader we needed since that moment.
“He was apologetic and was humble after that and right now is playing his butt off for his teammates.”
Caden Ramsey said the suspension was a wake-up call for him.
“I was definitely hurt because my teammates needed me for that next game against Bamberg,” he said. “They definitely were mad at me, and I had to make up for it.”
Ramsey has made up for it. In 2024, caught 40 passes for 749 yards and nine touchdowns. Defensively, he picked off a state-best 14 passes and had 54 tackles in helping Cross to a trip to the Class A championship game.
Through three games this season, Ramsey leads the team with 17 catches for 289 yards and three total touchdowns. Defensively, he has 13 tackles and two interceptions for the Trojans, who are ranked No. 3 in the latest Class A S.C. High School Football Media Poll.
Ramsey has big goals for the rest of the senior season. He wants to get Cross back to the state championship game and hit the 1,000-point mark in basketball.
Then, he will be off to make an impact with the South Carolina football team, something his mom and friends are looking forward to next season.
“We are a small town with big hearts and the community has embraced Caden,” Tyra Ramsey said. “... They are geeked up and ready to get season tickets to go to games. For the Gamecocks to give him the opportunity, I couldn’t be more thankful.”
