Matt Ryan

positives

Has a tall frame with good muscle tone and, while a bit lean, he has the frame to carry at least another 10 pounds of bulk with no loss in quickness...More of a short-to-intermediate passer, but he does a good job of going through progressions and is limber enough to make those throws while on the move...Very accurate passer when flushed out of the pocket, but has the strength to step up and absorb punishment...Shows the balance and body control to throw the ball across his body from the outside hashes, demonstrating good lateral slide (4.29 20-yard shuttle) for his position...Has a quick drive back from center to his throwing point, setting his feet properly before delivering the throw...Good team leader who puts in the extra hours in the film room and training room...Good lifter who plays with a fiery attitude and won't back away from a confrontation...Has very good game-management skills, making quick decisions while generally showing proper judgment...Cool under pressure and knows how to step up and avoid the bull rush...Seems to have ice water running through his veins and is never rattled, despite facing a fierce pass rush...Has complete command of the huddle and the training staff calls him one of the toughest players to ever wear a BC uniform, citing his dedication and long hours rehabilitating from offseason foot surgery...Drives away from center with a fluid stride and has the body control to quickly get into position to make the throw, whether in the pocket or on the move (can pass from the sprint or from dropback action)...Has an over-the-shoulder delivery and release, carrying the ball chest-high, and has a quick wrist flick and ability to adjust his release depending on the throwing situation, but he makes most of his mistakes on the deep ball. In that situation, he threw nine of his 10 interceptions in 2006 and 10 of 14 in '07...It is rare to see him force the ball, showing patience going through progressions and also has the intelligence to get innovative...Has the strength to stand tall in the pocket and will not be forced into rushing his throws (will take a sack rather than fire into traffic)...Not easy to knock down once he gets on the move and is a slippery runner who lacks valid foot speed, but has good side-step agility...Inspires the confidence of the entire team on the field and he is a mature leader who won't point fingers, rather accepting blame for a broken play...Excels throwing in the short area, as he puts good zip and touch on his throws, especially on underneath and crossing routes...Can vary his speed and take something off when working in this area...Very good game manager who has the pinpoint accuracy to put the ball into tight areas and keeps the receivers in their routes, doing a nice job of hitting them out of the breaks...Can vary the speed on his short throws, but can drill it to his targets while on the move without having his man have to adjust...Has a nice feel for pocket pressure, demonstrating the vision to locate the backside action and does a good job of stepping up and out to avoid, but will not hesitate to tuck the ball and run with it, if he locates a good crease...Has the ideal height you look for in a quarterback to scan the field over the defensive linemen and is quick to check down and locate his secondary receivers, keeping defenses honest when rolling out, as he does not need to set his feet to fire the ball on the move...In 2007, he showed improved footwork in his setup, driving back from center much smoother than in the past...Surveys the field and goes through progressions well, but needs to look off his primary target more often...Worked hard to improve throwing the deep pass with better placement...Not really an escape artist, but he shows good awareness to pressure and has enough mobility to elude heat in the pocket...Knows how to vary the speed of his tosses when working underneath.

compares to

MATT HASSELBECK, Seattle Seahawks

negatives

Lacks the arm strength to challenge the deep secondary, as his long throws tend to flutter or hang up long enough for defenders to attack the ball in flight (see 2006 Brigham Young and Wake Forest contests and 2007 Massachusetts and Virginia Tech games)...Needs to do a better job of planting his feet to get more zip behind his long throws...Has inconsistent and adequate velocity when firing the ball deep...Weakest area of his game is exposed when he attempts to fire the deep ball, as the pass tends to lack accuracy...Runs too hot and cold when trying to air the ball out, as his long throws lack trajectory...Needs to improve timing on his deep throws, as he is very inconsistent hitting those targets coming out of cuts...Holds for PATs and field goals, but needs to be quicker fielding and placing the ball...Strong runner with the ball, but runs a bit erect, resulting in fumble issues, as he does not always protect the ball when breaking past the line of scrimmage...Does not have the foot quickness to keep defenses honest as a runner and while he shows good vision as a passer, he will run into a crowd when carrying the pigskin (needs to be more alert to cutback lanes)...When he generates a high push in his delivery or throws off his back foot, his passes lose some zip, resulting in a high amount of tosses getting deflected (see 2007 North Carolina State, Massachusetts, Virginia Tech and Florida State games)...When he holds on to the ball too long waiting for his receivers to break, he will leave his passes behind too often (see 2007 Wake Forest, Virginia Tech SEC Game, Florida State and Maryland contests)...Needs to make quicker decisions when he is flushed out of the pocket and must stop trying to force his throws into tight areas...Needs to protect the ball better; had fumble issues in 2007, especially after getting sacked (see 2007 Georgia Tech, Miami and Michigan State games).

2006: Suffered a left foot bone fracture (fifth metatarsal) vs. Virginia Tech (10/12), sitting out the Buffalo clash. 2007: Underwent left foot surgery on Jan. 5 to repair the broken bone in his left foot.

Campus: 4.79 in the 40-yard dash

255-pound bench press

320-pound squat

232-pound power clean

4.29 20-yard shuttle

29-inch vertical jump

32 3/8-inch arm length

9 5/8-inch hands

Right-handed

28/32 Wonderlic score.

Attended William Penn (Philadelphia, Pa.) Charter School, playing football for head coach Brian McCloskey

Earned All-East honors from Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report

Also captured All-Southeastern Pennsylvania accolades as a senior quarterback, in addition to receiving All-City first-team honors in 2002 and second-team recognition in 2001

Three-time All-League (InterAc) selection

Threw for more than 1,300 yards with 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions as a senior

Finished his career by completing more than 52 percent of his pass attempts during all three seasons at the helm

Served as football team captain in 2002 and also captained the school's basketball and baseball teams

Competed as a small forward in basketball and as a pitcher and shortstop on the baseball squad.

Communications major, enrolled in the Carroll School of Management

2004 recipient of BC's Freshman Male Scholar-Athlete Award

Third of Bernice and Michael Ryan's four children

Uncle, John Loughery, played quarterback at Boston College from 1979-82

Born Matthew Thomas Ryan on 5/17/85

Resides in Exton, Pennsylvania.