Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan carried the nickname "Matty Ice" during his college career because of the smooth, calm way he approached the game and led numerous comebacks.
He's applied the same approach to a pre-Draft routine that has included a healthy mix of hype and projections of top-quarterback status.
Back in February at the Scouting Combine, Ryan navigated a large press conference with grace and comfort even when tough questions lifted from the crowd of reporters.
Why so many interceptions? He threw 19 picks last season.
"As a quarterback, you never want to turn the football over," he answered. "We did that a good amount this year, but when you’re aggressive with the football sometimes mistakes are going to happen. I thought we were very aggressive as a team this year and we ended up turning the football over, but at the same time, we scored a lot of points and we were competitive and won a lot of games. Ultimately, I think that wins are the most significant stat. But no question about it. I’ve got to work on that."
Did you really throw the ball more than 600 times in 2007? He attempted 654 throws, completing 59.3 percent for 4,507 yards and 31 touchdowns.
"I'm not sure of the statistics, but we threw it a lot," he said, then scanned the group for the next question.
Stars aligning with Atlanta and the third pick? The question Falcons fans were waiting for.
"It’s exciting for me that I think a number of teams I should say might be thinking about taking a quarterback this year and Atlanta might be one of them," he said. "It’s a great city. Arthur Blank has done a great job in Atlanta. I think he’s made a strong commitment to the city with everything that’s gone on the past year and he’s done it with class and I have a lot of respect for that organization."
Ryan went on to say he doesn't expect one position -- or person -- to cause drastic change in an organization's fortunes and that community interaction is something he values.
Ryan's approach has been to systematically address anything that may affect him negatively.
He answered NFL scouts and personnel executives directly at his Pro Day where he, according to Don Banks of SI.com, completed 48 of 52 passes.
Widely viewed as the top-ranked quarterback in the NFL Draft by multiple publications and web sites, Ryan worked out for 22 teams at his Pro Day.
He didn't work out at the Combine, saying he'd rather let NFL teams see what he could do with familiar receivers and routes -- similar to what he'd be doing on Sundays. The teams did get a look at his size however, which was recorded at just more than 6-foot-4 and 228 pounds.
Standing tall in the pocket is easy for Ryan, who studied under a coach with NFL experience at Boston College. He appears to have all the leadership intangibles needed for a career at the next level.
He also has the John Elway-like knack for comeback victories, as he showed last season in a last-minute drive at Virginia Tech.
"I know at BC we’ve been very successful in the fourth quarter for the past couple of years," he said. "I think we’ve had a bunch of games where we’ve kept it close, our defense has played great and we’ve run the ball and thrown the ball and kept ourselves in the game late into the fourth quarter. Then we’ve had whatever it took to kind of pull it out at the end, whether it be a couple of long runs or a big pass play or an interception on defense. I don’t know what it is, but I know we had it a lot when we were at BC."
Whatever the source, it's a skill that isn't taught and is valued in the NFL.
Ryan may be ahead of the curve.
He already has the nickname.
RELATED LINKS:
- MYFALCONSDRAFT: Rank draft prospects at MyFalconsDraft.com
- QUARTERBACKS: Previewing the quarterbacks
- PHOTOS: Photos of some of the 2008 NFL Draft prospects
- NFL DRAFT: Draft coverage from AtlantaFalcons.com
- SCOUTING COMBINE: AF.com at the Scouting Combine
- SENIOR BOWL: AF.com at the Senior Bowl
