But for a recruiting visit by former Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson and his inquisitive eyes, Yellow Jackets defensive end Curtis Ryans likely would have ventured off to junior college and hoped for the best.
Instead, with Johnson’s interest, followed by Ryans’ own determination and then the development of coach Geoff Collins’ staff, Tech has a long-armed, quick-footed defender on the roster with three more seasons of eligibility to go.
“I think his ceiling is very high,” North Cobb High coach Shane Queen told the AJC. “He’s a raw football player that hasn’t had a lot of experience on that side of the ball.”
After starting the season on the developmental team (Collins’ term for the scout team), Ryans found himself starting at defensive end Saturday against Virginia Tech. He made his presence felt quickly, beating a pulling guard to bring down Hokies running back Deshawn McClease for a tackle for loss on Virginia Tech’s second play of the game and then tracking down McClease on a screen pass on the next play to deny him a first down. He finished the game with a career-high four tackles.
“Of course, I had nerves,” Ryans said. “But I feel like I was made for the moment. I’ve been playing football all my life.”
Said Collins, “He’s come a long way.”
At North Cobb, Ryans played junior varsity for the Warriors as a sophomore and junior and only rose to the varsity as a senior after a growth spurt, Queen said. With depth on the defensive line, Ryans played offensive tackle.
Queen said that Ryans drew some interest from FBS schools, but his weak transcript curtailed his recruitment. Queen said that Ryans was headed for junior college until Johnson came through the school. He was not there to see a particular player, just making the rounds.
“I’ll never forget,” Queen said. “Coach Johnson came in and saw him in the weight room and said, ‘Who is that young man?’”
Queen showed Johnson game video and told him about his grades. Johnson vowed that if Ryans could improve his grades enough by graduation, he would have a scholarship waiting for him.
“He was here late, he was here early,” Queen said. “Same thing you do in the football season. He had to grind every day.”
Ryans’ grades met the standard, and he became a late signee to Tech’s 2018 signing class. He was the rare power-conference signee without any ranking from the likes of 247Sports and Rivals.
“I felt like I was a hidden gem,” Ryan said. “I just kept working and now I’m here.”
Ryans has the height (6-foot-5, while weighing 240 pounds) and long reach of players that Collins covets in recruiting. Collins said that, upon first seeing him, he wasn’t sure if Ryans had the quickness to play defensive end or the frame to add enough mass to play defensive tackle. But after a productive summer and encouraging preseason, Collins put him at defensive end on the developmental team, which Collins himself oversees.
There, Ryans practiced against starting offensive tackles Zach Quinney and Jared Southers and trained under defensive ends coach and Jackets legend Marco Coleman.
“He said he really sees potential in me, said I can do it,” Ryans said of Coleman. “So, really, I’m just trying to follow his footsteps. He knows what he’s talking about.”
Thanks to his improvement and a string of injuries on the defensive line, Ryans’ opportunities grew. He is a poster boy for the player development that Collins has touted since his hire. As Collins likes to point out, Jackets players on the scout team get repetitions in the team’s schemes because they run Tech’s offensive and defensive plays rather than mimicking the opposition’s plays drawn up on a card.
Ryans figures to see plenty of playing time in the Jackets’ final two games of the season, against N.C. State on Thursday night and Georgia on Nov. 30.
He’s one of a number of freshman defensive ends, along with Sylvain Yondjouen, Jordan Domineck and Justice Dingle, logging invaluable reps in their first seasons on the field.
“To see it pay off, I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Queen said.
Where his future was once uncertain, Ryans’ aim is high.
“Hopefully we can get a natty,” said Ryans, using the slang for national championship. “That’s the No. 1 goal for everybody.”
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