• Slug: Super Bowl: Kelee Ringo. 1,200 words.
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By Douglas Santo
Cronkite News

NEW ORLEANS – From Saguaro High School to the University of Georgia to the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelee Ringo is no stranger to success. On Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, Ringo has the chance to do something few have accomplished: Win a state championship, a national championship and a Super Bowl.

“I walk into this building, and I’m just like, ‘Dang, I’m really living young Kelee’s dreams, man.’ It’s just a great feeling just to be able to soak it in,” Ringo said.

Many remember Ringo’s iconic 79-yard pick-six off Bryce Young to seal Georgia’s 2022 national championship against Alabama, but his journey did not start there.

Ringo, a cornerback, grew up in Tacoma, Washington, until his sophomore year of high school. His mom, Tralee Hale, worked in the airline industry and relocated to Phoenix. Ringo had been living with his grandmother in Tacoma but decided to move to Phoenix to be closer to his mother.

The sophomore visited a few schools in the area, but quickly decided on Saguaro High in Scottsdale. Sabercats coach Jason Mohns led the team to four straight state titles when Ringo arrived.

“I think he stepped foot in our weight room, and I think he saw the composition of our team, the kind of kids that we had, the way they were working, the energy and the juice that we had,” Mohns said. “(He) met with some of our people, and I just think he felt like this is the kind of football culture I want to be around.”

Ringo’s first taste of football at Saguaro came during the summer workouts in 2017. Not only did Ringo have to adjust to the heat, but he lined up against Division I and eventual NFL talent.

Ringo covered Byron Murphy, who was heading to Washington and now plays for the Minnesota Vikings. Murphy was a back-to-back 1,000-yard receiver at Saguaro.

“Byron was an alpha dog. Byron got the best of him plenty of times, but Kelee never backed down, and I think that’s what you see from the elite players,” Mohns said. “I think you saw early on that this kid had the confidence and the belief in himself to line up and match up against those guys.”

Ringo, measured at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, was one of the top sprinters in the country for his age group. Mohns called him a “unicorn” based on his physical qualities and personality.

“He was one of a kind. His physical maturity, and you know, just a fast-twitched, muscled up, athletic, and he was just a bright-eyed, big smile, like really nice kid, and he was eager to learn,” Mohns said. “I don’t know that there was anybody that looked like him the first day they walked on campus.”

Ringo joined Saguaro as a running back with a lot of raw talent. Saguaro’s cornerback’s coach Bryant Westbrook convinced Ringo to make the change to corner.

When Westbrook, a former NFL first-round pick at the position, encouraged Ringo to train with him to play that position, it was hard to argue. Mohns said Westbrook “took Kelee under his wing, and really gave him a chance to be special.”

“It wasn’t an easy discussion. Of course, me being a young kid, I wanted the ball in my hands all the time, but just taking things from a point-five lens I like to say, a bigger view, maybe that could be the position for me, and I just wanted to try new things,” Ringo said. “And man, the rest is history.”

Ringo led Saguaro to state championship wins over Salpointe Catholic High School in 2017 and 2018, which capped six straight state championships for the Sabercats. Ringo accumulated 87 total tackles, six tackles for loss, five interceptions, 13 passes defended and a sack in his three years at Saguaro.

“He’s a natural leader. He’s a lead-by-example guy. He worked hard, he took coaching well. When your best player shows up and works hard and can be coached, I think people are drawn to him,” Mohns said. “Coach Westbrook would coach him hard, and he always took it. The way he carries himself, guys responded to that and guys followed that lead.”

Georgia started recruiting Ringo, and it didn’t take long for him to find his college home. With coach Kirby Smart’s defensive back history, and Ringo’s love for the campus, he felt comfortable right away. His mother’s job also allowed Ringo to visit the campus often.

Ringo learned from Smart, and credits his college coach for much of his success.

“Kirby Smart, one of the greatest coaches I’ve ever been around. It’s just trust your preparation and just knowing that your standard is demanded in anything that you do, whether that’s school, as a man, out there on the field as well man,” Ringo said. “Having a person like that, and just a model and icon around you like that can definitely help you be successful.”

During Ringo’s freshman year at Georgia, his mother was diagnosed with triple-negative ductal carcinoma, which is a rare form of breast cancer that disproportionately affects women of color under 40 years old. Hale underwent surgery, multiple rounds of chemotherapy and endured complications.

“She’s so strong, man. I talk to her all the time man, and I truly believe there’s nothing I’m going to go through that can be compared to what she’s gone through in her entire life,” Ringo said.

During Ringo’s 2021 season, which led to Georgia’s 2022 national championship, Hale never missed a game. In January, Ringo had the biggest play of his career, intercepting Alabama’s Bryce Young and returning the ball for a game-sealing touchdown to win the national championship.

In February 2022, Hale was declared cancer free.

“Anytime I face adversity, I look at my mom and I’m like, ‘Man, this challenge is no comparison to anything that she’s overcome in life … to see it from that lens and just continue to grow,” Ringo said. “I feel like just having faith in her and having faith in the Lord, man, there’s not too much that can stop us.”

During the 2023 offseason, Ringo and Hale launched the Ringo Family Foundation to raise awareness and provide education about triple-negative breast cancer. Through outreach, education and treatment, the foundation looks to positively impact the lives of all women.

Ringo has played on the biggest stage in high school and in college, and now he will check off the NFL. He will do it alongside Jordan Davis, who led Georgia’s defensive line with Ringo in the secondary.

“Playing in college at that level, I don’t think there’s any bright light that’s too big for us. So, just to be able to seize every moment, and trust your preparation no matter what it is,” Ringo said.

Ringo is confident but grounded ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl against Kansas City. Although he’s won at the biggest stage in high school and college, winning Super Bowl LIX would be a dream come true.

“This is really my dream. Everything I’ve prepared for in my life, 22 years old, just go out there and trust my preparation. I’m here for a reason,” Ringo said. “God places you here for a reason, and so be able to seize that moment and just trust yourself. There’s no light too big for us.”

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