Kelee Ringo, whose pick-six sealed Georgia’s national title win, grew up in Tacoma
Kelee Ringo is now a hero in Athens, Georgia. Monday night, at a packed Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the redshirt freshman cornerback sealed Georgia’s national championship win over Alabama with a pick-six in the final minute of the game, delivering the Bulldogs’ first title since 1980.
With less than four minutes to play, Alabama was searching for an equalizer after Georgia pushed its lead to eight.
Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young guided the Crimson Tide across midfield, but Ringo ended the drive with less than a minute remaining when he leaped into the air to intercept an underthrown pass.
Surrounded by more Bulldogs defenders, Ringo then sprinted 79 yards to the end zone for his first career score as Georgia’s sideline erupted.
The touchdown gave the Bulldogs their decisive 33-18 lead, and moments later, Ringo and his teammates were celebrating under cascading confetti.
Before his title-clinching touchdown, before he was a nationally ranked recruit, and before his prolific career at Saguaro High School in Arizona, Ringo was a kid growing up in Tacoma.
Ringo played for the Lions Youth Football Club before playing football and running track and field at Bellarmine Prep his freshman year of high school, and it was clear early on he could make an impact, both on the field and off.
“The first thing I noticed was just his character and his maturity as a person,” said longtime Lions football coach Brian Jensen, who was also one of Ringo’s teachers at Bellarmine. “Very respectful. Just a super great young man. Eager to learn.”
Ringo, who still lists Tacoma as his hometown on Twitter, played freshman football his one year at Bellarmine and was a two-way standout at running back and defensive back.
He quickly became one of the state’s top sprinters, reaching the podium in three events at the Class 4A state championships as a ninth-grader in 2017. He ran a season-best 10.58 seconds to place third in the 100-meter dash, placed fourth in the 200 at 21.52 seconds and fifth as a member of the Lions’ 4x100 relay team at 43.16 seconds.
Ringo also won both the 4A South Puget Sound League and 4A West Central/Southwest bidistrict championships in the 100 that season, and broke Bellarmine’s school record in the race.
Ringo’s proficiency as an athlete was evident as a freshman — and so was his work ethic.
“He didn’t take it for granted, and he wanted to continue to get better athletically,” Jensen said.
Ringo moved to Arizona ahead of his sophomore year and continued his football and track careers at Saguaro in Scottsdale.
There, he blossomed into one of the nation’s top cornerback prospects, pairing his blazing speed with big plays on the football field.
His senior season at Saguaro, Ringo finished with 32 tackles, including four for losses, one sack, three interceptions and three passes defended, per MaxPreps. He added 52 carries for 712 yards and 13 touchdowns on offense and finished with 869 all-purpose yards.
Saguaro was the state runner-up in the AIA Open Division championships Ringo’s senior season in 2019, and he was a contributor to a pair of 4A state title wins both his sophomore and junior seasons.
Ringo also won back-to-back AIA Division III championships in both the 100 and 200 his sophomore and junior seasons at Saguaro. He ran personal bests in the 100 (10.43 seconds) and 200 (21.18) as a junior, and was the top-ranked sprinter in Arizona in both races that season.
Alongside several top recruits from Washington, Ringo also won a 7-on-7 championship while playing with Ford Sports Performance in 2019.
By his senior year, Ringo was a consensus five-star recruit, and considered the top-ranked recruit in Arizona and top-ranked cornerback in the country by 247Sports.com, Rivals and ESPN in 2020. He was also a member of The News Tribune’s 2020 Western 100 class.
Ringo held 33 college football offers out of high school — most of them from Power Five programs — and announced his commitment to Georgia at the All-American Bowl in 2020, choosing the Bulldogs from a top five list that also included perennial powers Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas.
Ringo joined the Bulldogs that summer but did not play as a true freshman, redshirting the 2020 season following shoulder surgery.
He returned to play significant defensive snaps in each of Georgia’s 15 games this season, including starting 12 at corner, and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team this fall.
He tallied 26 tackles, including one sack, two interceptions, eight passes defended — and, of course, one pick-six that wrapped up a national title win.
“That’s him,” Jensen said. “That’s just Kelee. He puts himself in the right positions. … Whether it’s the last series of the game or the first series, he puts himself in a spot, when those opportunities come, he executes.”
Ringo certainly capitalized on the opportunity on the biggest stage Monday night.
“It was pretty cool,” Jensen said. “Super happy for him and his family. … It was special.”
This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 3:13 PM.
