“I honestly didn’t know how much support I had. Just for the whole community to pour love out to me, it’s a blessing, something I don’t take for granted.”
When Fresno State running back Brandon Ramirez scored his first career touchdown on Saturday against Georgia Southern, the moment unfolded just as he visualized. The long-awaited moment, which finally happened after Ramirez faced a series of setbacks in his first two years of college, became a reality with 10 minutes left in the fourth as the Bulldogs were leading 28-14.
That’s when the San Joaquin Memorial grad broke the plane on a three-yard rush, then immediately fell on both knees and pointed to the sky as Bulldog fans erupted with joy at Valley Children’s Stadium to show love for the hometown kid.
It was literally a prayer answered for Ramirez, who said he was asking God throughout the week to let him score on Saturday.
“God is my savior. And the whole time, all week, I was just praying, telling God, ‘If you let me score, I’ll give you Glory,'” Ramirez said. “On the way to our victory walk actually, something came to my mind. Like ‘Get on both knees and give Glory to God. So that’s where that moment came from.”
Although the season is just getting started, this latest campaign is already vastly different from the past two years for Ramirez. The San Joaquin Memorial graduate thinks back to his freshman year when he didn’t record a single stat. He remembers how some of his advisors at that time told him to consider changing to a different school.
But Ramirez, was determined to stay as a Bulldog.
“After spring ball during my freshman year, they told me that maybe I should look somewhere else. But my mindset was being here at Fresno State. I didn’t wanna go nowhere. I told them I wanna stay for fall camp,” Ramirez said.
The Hanford native then faced another setback during fall camp as he broke his shoulder.
“I ended up my breaking my shoulder during fall camp and being out the whole year. It was like ‘wow where do I got from here?'” Ramirez said.
The turning point, however, came when the Bulldogs introduced a new coaching staff this past spring, led by Matt Entz.
“I really feel like that was a blessing in disguise because I may not have been here if the same coaching staff was here,” Ramirez said. “I’ve been playing my best football this year, so just making it count.”
Bulldog fans, many who have followed Ramirez’s career since his high school days, are thrilled to see that the Central Valley kid is finally getting his opportunity. That’s a big reason why social media was buzzing after Ramirez scored his first touchdown. Ramirez clearly felt the love as he checked his phone after the ‘Dogs victory.
“I’m very grateful,” he said. “I honestly didn’t know how much support I had. Just for the whole community to pour love out to me, it’s a blessing, something I don’t take for granted. I wanna play for my fans, my teammates, so they give me motivation.”