26 DAYS TO KICKOFF: Nick Ramirez

#26 Nick Ramirez True Freshman 6-1 | 228 Lee's Summit, Mo. Bio

Position: Linebacker Previous College: None Projection: Redshirt Status: On Scholarship

Nick Ramirez (Sept. 10, 1994) is freshman linebacker with a receding hairline who is one of my favorite players in the 2013 class almost solely because he decommitted from Missouri after a hasty decision and picked us instead.

I don't love him just for his Pinkel-spurning ways, though. He's also an excellent and capable player. Rivals.com rated him the 11th best linebacker nationally in his class and the third-best player in the state of Missouri.

A three-year starter for West High School, Ramirez was dubbed a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and ESPN.com.

He was named to the MaxPreps 2012 Missouri Preseason All-State team prior to his senior season and to The Kansas City Star's All-Metro second team as a linebacker following the 2012 season.

Ramirez was selected to play in the 2012 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl.. He notched 115 tackles as a junior while leading the Titans to a 12-1 finish.

He was named a first-team all-state linebacker by ESPNHS following his junior season in 2011, and helped Lee's Summit West to win a 5A State championship as a sophomore in 2010, registering 130 tackles and seven sacks.

I was delighted to learn earlier this summer that the initial plan to grayshirt Ramirez and delay his full enrollment until spring 2014 had been scrapped due to available scholarships. But I still expect him to redshirt this season.