Biography

Matthew Thomas Ryan was born on May 17, 1985, the third of Bernice and Michael Ryan's four children. He attended William Penn Charter High School in Exton, PA, where he was a captain of the varsity baseball, basketball, and football teams. Ryan twice earned all-city honors for his performance at William Penn Charter, and in his senior season was named to the All-East team by Tom Lemming and all-Southern Pennsylvania team.

Ryan accepted a scholarship to play football at Boston College over offers from Georgia Tech, Iowa, and Purdue among others. He redshirted during the 2003 season before being named backup quarterback at the beginning of the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He led the Eagles to an MPC Computers Bowl win against Boise State, completing 19 of 36 passes for 256 yards and a then career-best 3 touchdowns.

At the start of the 2006 season, Matt Ryan was named starting quarterback for the BC Eagles. He had a breakout season, completing 243 of 398 passes for a total of 2939 yards and 14 touchdowns, and running for 3 touchdowns. He was named ACC Offensive Back of the Week three times, and led the Eagles to a 25-24 win over Navy at the Meineke Car Care Bowl. It was during this season that he widely became known as "Matty Ice" for his calmness under pressure.

Matty Ice has begun 2007 with a bang, leading the Eagles to a 3-0 record against ACC opponents, throwing for 985 yards and 7 touchdowns. This high level of play has generated a buzz around Chestnut Hill, and has brought Ryan into the Heisman conversation.