Come Super Bowl Sunday, millions of eyes will be on an Exton native few would have guessed could be the NFL’s MVP, and yet Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan stands on the doorstep of both the biggest game and highest individual honor in all of football.

“I think people would be lying, other than Matt himself I’m sure, to tell you they thought he’d be in the position he’s in today,” high school teammate Zack Zeglinski said in a Philadelphia Inquirer report by Zach Berman. “But other than that, it’s beyond anyone’s imagination what’s going on right now. Possible MVP of the NFL. It’s just unbelievable.”

Ryan has risen from his days of youth football with the Downingtown Young Whippets and Marsh Creek Eagles to high school at Penn Charter, college at Boston College, and nine seasons with the Falcons — all the while pursuing what’s best for the team.

“It shows Matt’s unselfishness,” high school teammate Tony McDevitt said. “People always say football is the ultimate team game. And Matt was the ultimate teammate. Because he had all this talent … yet the system called for us to be more of a running team.”

That’s no longer the case, though, for Ryan, who attended Saints Philip and James through middle school. He threw for just shy of 5,000 yards and 38 touchdowns this regular season, and just put up an incredible 392-yard, five-touchdown performance in the NFC Championship game on Sunday.

“You come to the realization that, ‘Wow, look how far (he’s come),’” Zeglinski said.

Read more about Matt Ryan’s football pedigree in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.
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Top photo credit: 55thstreet Matt Ryan via photopin (license)