Few NFL players can be called an "All-American Boy," but Matt Ryan can

… humble, boring, strait-laced, and quiet 

They met in a weight room, certainly not the most romantic place to start a relationship.

Yet, that is how life has been for Matt Ryan. He says that he is "boring," and that is probably why so many in the media have been ignoring the quarterback who will be named as NFL 2016 MVP and will lead the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Still, Matt met Sarah Marshall in the weight room at Boston College, and they are now a power athletic couple in Georgia. Sarah, a starting point guard on the Lady Eagles women's basketball team for three seasons, happened to lock eyes with the quarterback who led the football team to national prominence in the late 2000s.

Sarah followed Matt to Atlanta and they married. She is now employed by the WNBA Atlanta Dream basketball team while her husband pursues his dreams with the Falcons.

Ryan's humility

However, when people at Boston College remember Ryan, they often talk about intangibles, things that the quarterback brought along with his tremendous athletic ability. "He epitomizes humility, that’s the thing that sticks out to me,” Chris Cameron, who was media relations director when Ryan played at BC, told the Boston Herald. "He’s just the most humble, sincere guy that you would ever want to meet. Ten years later, he still is. He’s still that way, he hasn’t changed." 

2007 Heisman race

Cameron remembers Ryan because the BC senior became a contender for the Heisman Trophy in 2007. Yet, Ryan remained a humble guy through it all.

Ryan could probably chuckle at the quarterbacks who finished above him in the Heisman voting. Tim Tebow won it, Colt Brennan was third, Chase Daniel fourth, Dennis Dixon fifth, and Pat White sixth, one spot ahead of him. Ryan did win the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award that year, though, but those other QBs had little to no success in the NFL.

However, being outspoken or controversial is not Ryan's style. One of the coaches at BC when Ryan was there was a grizzled veteran named Barry Gallup. He said this about Ryan, "I really think character is one of the reasons he’s as successful as he has been. He wasn’t a five-star recruit coming out of high school."

Character

Character. Not something you hear often in discussions of NFL players.

Ryan learned about the importance of humility and developed character in high school. He played for one of those coaching geniuses who knew nothing about coaching.

Ryan was 6-foot-4 in high school with a rifle for an arm, yet this genius coach used a Wishbone attack. Yep, use the Wishbone when you have a quarterback who eventually became the third player selected in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Wife successful, yet grounded too

Sarah Marshall was one of the top high school basketball players in the state of Maine before accepting a scholarship to BC.

She was twice named Maine Gatorade Player of the Year, named Maine Female Athlete of the Year after her junior season, was twice named Maine girls basketball MVP -- in short, she received all of the adulation that Ryan did not in high school.

The lack of attention in high school actually helped Ryan.

The New York Times explained how Ryan developed character by playing for such a stupid coach. "Ryan, for example, had a powerful, accurate throwing arm as a high schooler, but he spent most of his time at Penn Charter operating the run-based triple-option offense," the Jan. story noted. "Some teenage quarterback prospects in spread offensive systems might throw the football 45 times a game. Ryan had games where he threw fewer than 20 passes."

As a result, instead of being a five or even a four-star recruit coming out of high school, Ryan was just a three. No one really knew how good he could be, but BC Coach Tom O'Brien took a chance on him.

While he did not throw the ball much, "when he did throw the ball, you saw excellent mechanics and precise accuracy,” O’Brien told the Times. “More than anything, he had such obvious leadership qualities.”

NFL

Now, after eight years in the NFL, you never hear his name on Facebook Live, on the police blotter, on the NFL banned substances list … he plays the game, goes home and spends time with Sarah, and generally enjoys life.

His father, Mike, appreciates the fact that his son has changed -- but has not changed. "Matt went from having to call home for gas money to getting a contract worth $50 or $70 million,” Mike told the Times. “The N.F.L. is a crazy business, and Matt is just laying low. It’s not that he’s boring — it’s peace and contentment in a world where other people’s heads are spinning.”

Quite simply, Ryan is a grounded individual in an overly dysfunctional NFL world. He may be humble, boring, strait-laced, and quiet -- but that is so refreshing in the 21st Century.