The head coach walked onto the football field and sat next to the highly touted quarterback, engaging him in conversation. Herm Edwards then kicked his feet out and rested his elbow into the turf to strike a more relaxed pose. Matt Ryan did the same.
The snapshot led one to consider the possibilities.
If Edwards's Kansas City Chiefs were on the clock with the fifth overall selection in next month's NFL draft, and the Boston College quarterback was still available, would they pick him?
If there was one moment that stood out from yesterday's Pro Day at BC, this was probably it: Edwards and Ryan sprawled on the FieldTurf, smiling side by side in the Alumni Stadium indoor bubble.
Edwards could have been quizzing Ryan on X's and O's, probing him to see how he's handling the pressure of possibly being the No. 1 overall draft choice, or perhaps asking him to recap some of his stellar late-game comebacks. As it turns out, they were talking about their Philadelphia connections, the King of Prussia shopping mall, and traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway.
Huh?
"I was just trying to relax him more than anything else," Edwards said. "He'd been waiting around since 10 o'clock. It was to take more pressure off the guy, to just tell him to go out there and throw the ball and have some fun."
Ryan's mid-afternoon workout, in which he threw for NFL scouts for the first time this offseason, drew unprecedented attention compared with past BC Pro Days. In all, 22 teams were represented and 42 credentials were issued to media members, from ESPN to BC's school newspaper The Heights. Former BC players Doug Flutie and Pete Kendall also watched from the sidelines.
Ryan's scripted workout included 52 throws in which his targets were former teammates Andre Callender, Kevin Challenger, Tony Gonzalez, Jon Loyte, and L.V. Whitworth. As media members scribbled down details of every throw, NFL officials watched from the sideline as Ryan - in black shorts and a maroon T-shirt with the number "12" and "Ryan" on the back - worked at a pace that was probably a bit too deliberate for scouts.
A layman would note that Ryan completed 48 of his deliveries, with three drops and one overthrow, but that probably isn't the most accurate barometer to judge the performance, since there was no pass rush or defenders.
Some impressions from the experts?
"I thought he pressed a couple times, trying to throw the ball a little too hard," Edwards said. "That's generally what happens with quarterbacks when you get the media there.
