The former voice of Tulane University football, Ken Berthelot, remembers Patrick Ramsey well.

It was back in 1997, and Tommy Bowden had arrived late in the recruiting season to take over as the Green Wave’s new head football coach with apparently no intentions of signing Ramsey.

“Bowden received a phone call from (former LSU and Baltimore Colts quarterback) Bert Jones and Jones urged Bowden to take a second look at Ramsey,” recalled Berthelot in a recent phone interview. “He said, ‘Coach Bowden, this kid is big, strong, sturdy, smart, and has a great arm. You really need to give him a second look.’ “

As a former Ruston High School star nicknamed “The Ruston Rifle,” Jones had some expertise on Ramsey, who also prepped at Ruston High and considered Jones to be his idol.

The north Louisiana town of Ruston had a knack for producing great NFL quarterbacks. Along with Jones, the legendary Terry Bradshaw and Buffalo Bills QB Joe Ferguson also hailed from Ruston.

As a former member of the Tulane Football Radio Network during the Bowden years, I remember Pat Ramsey as a polite young guy holding the clipboard and patiently waiting his turn as Shaun King was leading the Green Wave to a historic, 12-0 season under Bowden, and a young offensive coordinator named Rich Rodriguez.

Bowden and Rodriguez had big plans for Ramsey.  But when Bowden departed for Clemson, Tulane president Dr. Scott Cowen made one of the all-time bone-headed moves in college football history by passing on Rodriguez and hiring Georgia assistant Chris Scelfo as the new head coach.

Nevertheless, Ramsey thrived and Wikipedia described his college career in glowing terms:

“Ramsey attended Tulane University , and had an outstanding collegiate career as a “scholar athlete,” being named five times to the Conference USA Commissioner’s honor roll , and was the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete of the Year, in 2001 .

During Ramsey’s 1999 season, he set 20 Tulane passing records, including single season records for passing yards, attempts, and completions. In that season he threw for 25 touchdowns, the second-most ever for a Tulane player. However, he was also prone to questionable decisions, throwing 24 interceptions.

In 2000 , he led the third-best passing offense in the nation. He also made the All-Conference USA second-team, leading the conference in most meaningful passing statistics. In his senior season in 2001 he started 11 games and threw for 22 touchdowns. He set a school record, having at least one touchdown pass in 31 consecutive games.

Upon graduating, he had the top five passing games in school history. His career totals at Tulane were surpassed only (in various individual statistics, none overall) by Shaun King , Mike McKay , Roch Hontas , and Terrence Jones .

Ramsey graduated with degrees in Accounting and Finance .”

Ramsey’s future appeared bright when the Washington Redskins drafted him in the first-round of the 2002 NFL Draft.  the young quarterback never seemed comfortable in Steve Spurrier’s wide open offense. He split time with other QB’s in his rookie year, and he started in his  second season under Spurrier, but was one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the NFL.

After Joe Gibbs replaced Spurrier in 2004, Gibbs traded for Mark Brunell and made Brunell the starter. However, Gibbs replaced Brunell with Ramsey late in the season, and said Ramsey would start in 2005. After Ramsey was injured in the 2005 season debut, Brunell took back the starting job, and Ramsey was traded to the New York Jets one year later.

Since then, Ramsey has been a journeyman, including brief stints with the Jets (backup to Chad Pennington), Denver Broncos (backup to Jay Cutler), Tennessee Titans (third-string behind Kerry Collins and Vince Young), and Detroit Lions (signed as a reserve after Matthew Stafford was placed on IR.)

Ramsey’s best year came in 2003 when he started 11 games and passed for 2,166 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a passer rating of 75.8.

As Ramsey trains with world-renowned fitness guru Mackie Shilstone these days in New Orleans, speculation is growing that the former Tulane star will sign with the Saints sometime before training camp. If he does, this would give the Saints a veteran presence behind Drew Brees—something lacking since the Saints let Brunell depart.

At 31, Ramsey is nine years younger than Brunell, and possesses a stronger arm. And after his days as a starter in Washington, he is used to the glare of the national spotlight.

While some say Ramsey’s signing with the Saints is a fait accompli, he told The Times-Picayune last week, “I visited with the Saints back in April. I’m not sure where it’s going to end up. There are some teams interested, interested enough to have me down here with Mackie (Shilstone).”

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