Texas Tech LB Bryce Ramirez returns in Lubbock after surgery on broken leg

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech linebacker Bryce Ramirez is back in Texas five days after breaking his left leg in a grueling game against North Carolina State.

Ramirez returned to Lubbock on Thursday, greeted by coach Joey McGuire and others at the airport as the Red Raiders wheeled into the terminal two days before their home Big 12 opener.

The fourth annual Junior Week in Raleigh, North Carolina included a hospital visit by NC State coach Dave Doren and members of his staff. Ramirez received a big get-good card. He posted a photo on Twitter thanking Dore and the program.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” Doreen said Thursday. Ramirez had two surgeries on his broken leg while at North Carolina.

“If my son was in the same situation in another city, I hope someone would do the same for my son,” Doreen said.

McGuire met with reporters Monday after getting off the phone with Ramirez.

“You can see the smile in his voice just because he has such a great smile,” McGuire said. “It’s funny. What’s next? It’s Texas Week, let’s go tell everybody it’s been 24 hours,” he said.

Ramirez was knocked down by Wolfpack running back Jordan Houston in the first half of Saturday night’s 27-14 loss. A pile rolled over Ramirez’s leg, which was planted in the grass. He was curled up in an unusual way as he lay on the grass with his knees bent.

Trainers covered his leg with a towel as they began to treat him, and ESPN chose not to replay the injury. The game was halted for about 10 minutes before Ramirez was loaded onto a motorized cart and taken to the hospital.

Ramirez was one of four Texas Tech players offered a scholarship before the season after appearing on special teams in his first action as a redshirt sophomore last year. He played high school football in the Houston area.

McGuire said no family members were at the game, but Ramirez’s mother and father traveled to see him in the hospital. The Texas Tech athletic trainer stayed with Ramirez. He said the school is paying the family’s expenses in accordance with NCAA rules.