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FOXBORO, Mass. — Logan Ryan is the answer to the ultimate what-if question for wistful football players: What would become of the highly athletic college quarterback if, rather than spending four years under center, he instead chose a position out of high school with a better pro future?
For every Russell Wilson, who succeeds in the NFL at quarterback despite his smaller stature, and Julian Edelman, who made the switch from college QB to a skill position, there are exponentially more players who never pan out because they don’t fit the pro mold, and they waited too long to swap positions. Players like former Arkansas quarterback Matt Jones, Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez, West Virginia’s Pat White and Michigan’s Devin Gardner are just a sample of college quarterbacks who unsuccessfully made the switch to another position in the pros. They had the size and athleticism, but typically the NFL is where projects go to die. Even players like Washington’s Jake Locker, Arizona’s Matt Scott and Ohio State’s Troy Smith could have had more successful NFL careers if they had played a skill position rather than quarterback in college.
SCOUT-TEAM HEISMAN Ryan, as a four-star “athlete” coming out of Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees County, N.J., had the chance to play quarterback in college, though he admits he likely would have been moved from his high school position anyway because of a lack of arm strength. He was a standout prep, accounting for over 35 total touchdowns in his final two years of high school, and had offers from smaller schools to keep playing quarterback. He chose to stay close to home at Rutgers and play cornerback instead, but he still nearly made the switch to offense because of some legendary scout-team reps. “I absolutely torched Devin McCourty and all those — Freeny was probably there. They’ll tell you about it,” Ryan said. “I almost got moved to offense because my redshirt year, I was the scout-team quarterback toward the end of the year and did so well, they eventually just made me the best offensive player we’d play that week, I’d be in that role. There was a potential that I could have moved to running back in my college career, but we decided to stick at corner, and it paid off.” Ryan had a notably epic performance as the Scarlet Knights prepared for Central Florida quarterback, and current Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, B.J. Daniels during his redshirt freshman season in 2009.
“Quote from (Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano), I ‘won the Heisman that week in practice,’ because I had a better game than B.J. Daniels did, because we beat them 31-0,” Ryan said. “I got a game ball from my scout-team performance.” McCourty, Ryan’s fellow secondary-mate on the Patriots, doesn’t remember it quite as gloriously, though he might have been protecting his own ego.
“Yo, Du,” McCourty called out to Patriots safety Duron Harmon, who was in the same class as Ryan at Rutgers. “What’s wrong with Log? He told him how he torched the Rutgers secondary in ’09 when he was a redshirt, playing B.J. Daniels.” “He had a solid day and a half,” Harmon said deadpan. “He actually did all right, but he didn’t throw the ball,” McCourty said with a smile. “He came in and it was like, ‘All right, he’s going to scramble.’ And then when the real quarterback was in there, it was probably going to be a throw. “But no, he definitely helped the defense. I’ll say that, as far as giving us that look of a guy that can get away. I just found out Log played quarterback in high school, in the NFL. I didn’t know.”
Ryan’s high school was one of the early adapters of the spread offense that has become so prominent at the college level. Ryan looked up to White and says he called his own plays at the line of scrimmage, picking out his matchups. “What do you think? He went to Rutgers and played defensive back,” McCourty said. “I’m just saying. Went to Rutgers, played defensive back. “I think he did a decent job, though. He gave us as good of a look you could get in practice.” Another high school quarterback/defensive back, Mohamed Sanu, did get moved to offense early in his Rutgers career but like Ryan’s proposed switch, “that’s because we were so bad on offense,” McCourty recalled. It worked out for Sanu, who now plays receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. Patriots linebacker and Rutgers alum Jonathan Freeny bellowed with laughter when recalling Ryan’s quarterback days and was a bit more complimentary of the performance. “That’s funny, I actually do remember him being the scout-team quarterback back when he was a younger guy,” Freeny said. “He did a great job. He gave us a good look. To tell you the truth, he got us very prepared for the game that week. He did play better than (Daniels).” Daniels threw for just 129 yards with two interceptions with 16 rushing attempts for 11 yards in the Rutgers blowout.
BREAKOUT SEASON Ryan’s reps at quarterback, both in high school and on the scout team, still help the cornerback to this day. Ryan, always oozing the confidence necessary out of an NFL defensive back, claims to have the best hands in the Patriots secondary, and it shows with his play on the field. He has 11 interceptions in three seasons with the Patriots, and he’s having a standout season, allowing just 31 receptions on 57 targets for 371 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. “Quarterbacks — believe it or not — quarterbacks probably have the best hands because they just have the ball in their hands so much and catching shotgun snaps a lot of the time,” Ryan said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Tom (Brady) secretly has the best pair of hands on our team.” Ryan, 24, also is able to anticipate where the quarterback might throw based on the Patriots’ coverage. “I think all the time about things from a quarterback perspective backwards, and I kind of see, I’d like to think what he’s seeing and where he might want to go with the ball,” Ryan said. “And whether that be me or anybody, I see based on the coverage, it gives me a sense of when or if the ball’s going to come to me and kind of be ready for it for those interceptions.”
After earning a prominent role as a rookie in 2013, Ryan was moved to fourth on the depth chart behind Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner and Kyle Arrington in 2014. Ryan didn’t start the 2015 season as a Patriots starter, which is hard to believe based on his recent play. He’s been a consistent presence in both man and zone coverage, typically locking down the opposing team’s No. 2 receiver, though he’s also taken on the No. 1 wideout, as he did earlier in the season lining up across from New York Jets receiver Brandon Marshall on nearly every defensive snap. Ryan is thriving with a more consistent role, while his snaps were varied in 2014. At 5-foot-11, 195 pounds with a 6.69-second 3-cone drill coming out of college, Ryan probably could contribute at slot receiver or as a third-down back Sunday night against the Denver Broncos in the Patriots’ depleted offense, despite McCourty’s doubt. But Ryan chose not to make the switch to offense, and it’s panning out in his much-needed role as the Patriots’ rock-solid outside defender. “I wanted to be a point guard, and then I realized that 6-foot is really hard, and I realized that there’s a lot of receivers out there too,” Ryan said. “If you can do it on the defensive end, it’s that much more special and that much more important. Everyone in high school wants to be the next great receiver, so those guys who can flip it around and do it backwards — which many of them can’t — if you can, it’s a lot more valuable. It might pay off in the end.”