Ramsey came to West Virginia from Northwestern where he coached the secondary after working with the Wildcats defensive linemen in 1991. Ramsey played both football and baseball at Indiana State. He was a Division I-AA second team All-America selection in football as a senior and a three year All-Missouri Valley Conference selection. Ramsey was among the final players cut from the Indianapolis Colts training camp in 1984 and played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League in 1985. Ramsey started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kansas State in 1985 and then spent two years as an assistant football and track coach at Mission (Texas) High School. He rejoined the Kansas staff in 1988 and spent three seasons there as an assistant coach working with the outside linebackers and the secondary.