Ramsey grew up in
Hastings, Florida and attended
Hastings High School, where he won state championships in his first two years. He moved to live with an uncle in
Camden, New Jersey and play for the
Camden High School football team, which went 2-8 in his junior year and won the New Jersey state championship in his senior year.[3]
Ramsey was a
quarterback and tight end at the
University of Kentucky, where he was part of the team that won the 1976 SEC Championship and the 1976
Peach Bowl.[4] He was first-team All
SEC and third-team
All-American as QB in 1977 when Kentucky finished with a 10-1 record and #6 ranking in the final AP poll. Ramsey also played two games on the
basketball team as a
walk-on in 1976. [5]
^
ab"Derrick Ramsey to head Labor Cabinet under Bevin". Associated Press State Wire. December 2, 2015.
^Hitchner, Emelia.
"Catching up with a hometown hero", The St. Augustine Record, June 26, 2016. Accessed July 25, 2019. "'By going to Camden, we thought that opportunity would be afforded to me,' Ramsey said. 'And it was.' While playing at Camden High School, Ramsey added another high school football championship to his resume in 1974."