On Tuesday it was Matt Ryan’s turn to entertain young football fans who participated in William and Mary’s Colonial All-Pro camp.
Like the two other NFL quarterback stars who visited Zable Stadium the two days prior – Richmond native Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks and Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts – Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl quarterback, shed some light on what life as an NFL quarterback is like, what the ride has been like thus far and the tools that guided him along his journey.
As much as Ryan preached, however, he also encouraged campers, who ranged from eighth-graders to rising high school seniors, to ask questions.
“I think it’s a great forum to open it up to questions and hear some of the things [campers] are interested in and give them insight into some of the things go on in the day-to-day life of a professional athlete,” Ryan said of the camp. “It’s always fun to do that and see the types of questions they ask.”
As a rookie, the question Ryan faced most was whether he could bring stability to a franchise that had been through more ups and downs than perhaps any other NFL team over the past 30 years.
After making the playoffs only twice since 1982, the Falcons made it to the Super Bowl in 1998, which ended in a loss to the Denver Broncos, before missing the playoffs each of the next four seasons.
Michael Vick briefly revived the franchise before his arrest on dogfighting charges in 2004, which resulted in him spending two years in federal prison and left the Falcons’ organization in turmoil.
After three-consecutive losing seasons following Vick’s departure, the Atlanta Falcons drafted Ryan with the third overall pick in the 2008 draft.
He’s been making history ever since.
After taking over a franchise in 2008 that had never before put together consecutive winning seasons, Ryan doesn’t know what a losing season feels like in the NFL. He’s guided the Falcons to five-straight winning seasons while making the playoffs every year except one.
He’s shooting up the record books, too.
He holds the franchise’s single-season passing yards, touchdowns, completions and completion percentage records, and could end up holding the all-time records in each of those categories after one more year.
Coming off a year in which the team fell one game short of its first Super Bowl appearance since 1998, expectations are at their peak for Ryan and the Falcons, who bring back nearly every key component from last season.
His outlook on handling pressure is similar to the message he shared with campers at William and Mary on Tuesday.
“It’s not an easy thing to do,” Ryan said of living up to expectations. “You have to concentrate on game plans and in practice and just work hard in general.”
Ryan talks more about his message to campers in the video above.
