Matt Ryan to potential draft picks: ‘Hold on’

While Matt Ryan was not a Counter Terrorist Unit member like Jack Bauer, the final 24 hours before he became a Falcon were action packed and full of suspense and drama.

Ryan was one of the six players invited to attend the NFL Draft in New York last year. Nine invited players are scheduled to attend this year’s draft, which will be held April 25-26 at Radio City Music Hall.

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Matt Ryan gave a thumbs up after being selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2008 NFL Draft.

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Those final suspense-filled hours went by way too fast for Ryan. He advises this year’s group to hold on tight and enjoy the whirlwind ride.

“We had interviews and such that [Friday],” Ryan said. “We met with commissioner [Roger] Goodell. I finished around 3 o’clock with all of that stuff, and I made it back to the hotel in New York.”

Ryan had some options at that point. The soon-to-be millionaire, could have hit the club scene in Manhattan. He could have gone to one of the fine high-end restaurants. Or he could have taken it easy and relaxed with his family.

With his hometown of Philadelphia just a couple of hours away, he elected to relax in his spacious suite in the Times Square area with family and friends while trying not to think about his very big day.

“We had a catered dinner up in the suite,” Ryan said. “A lot of my cousins, aunts and uncles were there. My parents, brothers and sisters. I had a lot of family there. We just kind of hung around.”

Ryan invoked the “no TV” rule because at that point, the sports airwaves were saturated with draft coverage.

While he and his family played games, told stories and caught up with each other, Ryan acknowledges being a nervous wreck. Thoughts of being in the green room too long wouldn’t stop dancing around his head.

“I tried not to worry about it, but I was nervous just because you don’t know where you are going to end up,” Ryan said. “There is a lot of uncertainty, so you are stressed about what could happen the next day.”

But the low-scale party carried onward.

“The advice that I received was that this only comes around once, you might as well enjoy it because it’s a great time in your life,” Ryan said.

After the relatives left around 11:30 p.m., Ryan fell asleep about two hours later, he said, and he expected the next day would be another long day.

While Ryan expected to go pretty high in the draft, he had seen those agonizing scenes of Brady Quinn sitting all alone in the green room in 2007 as he dropped to a late first-round draft pick. Ryan didn’t want to remain in the room any longer than necessary.

Ryan slept in Saturday. He got up around 10 a.m. and went downstairs for brunch. Afterward he “just hung out in the lobby of the hotel” before going back to his suite around noon.

For the event he sported a designer sharkskin suit, custom-made by popular New York tailor Joey Wendt. Looking clean and ready to leave the green room early, Ryan was dressed for success.

“I was trying to get ready and put my Sunday’s best on,” Ryan said. “All of my family came up to my room right before I left. At that point, you’re on cloud nine because you don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s tough to describe because you’re just so excited.”

Fortunately for Ryan, his stay in the green room didn’t last very long.

“When I got there, my family walked in with me and sat down,” Ryan said. “We were back there for about 15 minutes, and then I got the call from [Falcons general manager] Thomas (Dimitroff), coach [Mike] Smith and [team owner] Arthur Blank, maybe about 15 to 20 minutes after I’d went into the green room.”

This year the NFL invited 10 players, including Georgia’s Matthew Stafford. (USC quarterback Mark Sanchez declined his invitation.) It’s possible that Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman and USC linebacker Brian Cushing could be in the green room for a couple of hours.

Other players invited are Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree, Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry, Virginia offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, Mississippi offensive tackle Michael Oher, Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo and Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith.

“You never know exactly what is going to happen, so you are a little bit uncertain,” Ryan said. “Luckily, the NFL did a great job last year. The six guys that they invited up were the first six picks. So, it worked out very well.”

Monroe has some green-room experience. He was at the draft last season with Virginia teammate Chris Long, who was selected one pick ahead of Ryan at No. 2.

Ryan doesn’t think anybody should really worry about being the last player in the green room.

“You’re going to end up in a situation that is unbelievable,” Ryan said. “You are going to have an opportunity to play in the NFL whether if you are picked one, 10, 15 or 20. It doesn’t make any difference. You’re going to remember it for the rest of your life. Have fun with it.”