The path to continue in athletics after high school is one with many twists and turns, but also full of dead ends. Coconino running back Fernando Ramirez found an unconventional route to keep playing football. The 1,000-yard rusher from this past season is set to start his collegiate career in a brand-new place.
Ramirez is signed to play for the Salt River Scorpions, a college team that is part of the Hohokam Junior College Athletic Conference. He will attend Phoenix College while playing in the Valley, as the school will work with the HJCAC for the first time this upcoming season.
Ramirez wasn鈥檛 ready to let go of a sport he said he has a deep passion for, so a chance to be a part of a budding program felt like the right fit.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 done with football,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 knew I had the talent to go play somewhere.鈥�
Many factors went into Ramirez pursuing this opportunity in Phoenix. One of the most important ones was doing his due diligence on what exactly this program looked like.
According to the HJCAC鈥檚 website, the conference began competition in 2019 after the Maricopa County Community College District opted to scrap football at the end of the 2018 season. The conference claimed that community and junior colleges dropping football would dry up about $8 million worth of four-year scholarships for student-athletes.
Ramirez kept his options open throughout the recruiting process and he did his due diligence to see if this opportunity was legitimate and worthwhile.
鈥淭here was definitely some thought put into it,鈥� Ramirez said. 鈥淚 talked to multiple people about it because I knew it was a new thing down in Phoenix that they were doing. I just wanted to make sure that it was a sure thing. Sooner or later, I got all the answers I needed.鈥�
Ramirez said the Salt River Scorpions reached out about a month or so after Coconino鈥檚 football season, which ended in a 45-10 loss to Mica Mountain, where Ramirez scored a 23-yard touchdown. Before the postseason, he ran for a game-high 138 yards and scored two touchdowns in the 49-26 city championship game win over Flagstaff High School to be Coconino鈥檚 representative for the Bill Epperson award.
The First Team All-Grand Canyon Region player had a short runway to flash his talent to presumptive recruits. Before leading the Panthers in his senior year with over 1,100 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns in 2024, he backed up Bridger French, who went on to rush for nearly 1,700 yards in 2023. Ramirez only had 32 carries as a junior, according to MaxPreps, but averaged a team-high 10.8 yards per carry to run for 345 yards.
鈥淚 was kind of in a spot where I didn鈥檛 know if there was going to be a chance of me playing football again,鈥� Ramirez said.
Ramirez had the resume to show he was capable of being a key piece to a winning program. As a senior, he ran for at least 100 yards in five games and scored at least three touchdowns in three outings. A signature game was in the homecoming matchup against Mingus, where he ran for 133 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-12 win that earned him an Ed Doherty Medallion nomination.
In his conversations with the Salt River staff, Ramirez and the coaches were on the same page about focusing on development and setting up players for a chance to play at a higher level.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I was honestly looking for,鈥� Ramirez said. 鈥淚 was looking for help to get to the next level. I would love to go play at a Division II, III or even DI college, but I also know that there are steps to get there, especially in my situation.鈥�
Ramirez said it took him about a month or so to make that decision. With help from his coaches at Coconino and planning logistics with his mother, he was able to come up with a plan.
The prospect of going to school in Phoenix required a lot of hoops to jump through to make it work. For one, there was the question of what his living situation would look like. Since Phoenix College doesn鈥檛 offer on-campus dorms, Ramirez had to find out where he would stay. He also needed to figure out how to get around.
鈥淚t was more just a concern of living down there and how to get from one place to another,鈥� Ramirez said. 鈥淭he big thing was figuring out expenses and trying to get a vehicle down there.鈥�
Ramirez now has a plan to make it work, including staying with some family he has in the Valley. He expects the team鈥檚 summer report date to be sometime in July and wants to hit the ground running.
Ramirez credits the lessons he learned from his time with Coconino across two different coaching staffs that made him feel like family and were willing to be straight up with him.
Looking back at this process, Ramirez understands the work it took to earn a collegiate football offer. He also thinks that people in his situation in the future will need to have a strong attitude toward focusing on schoolwork.
鈥淚 would tell people to definitely pay attention when people say to hit the books hard,鈥� he said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 slack on your grades, don鈥檛 fall behind because if you want to play college ball, those are definitely going to matter.鈥�
Ramirez will be studying sports medicine at Phoenix College with his aim set high on proving that he can continue to grow.