Rutgers Ryan headed to the NFL
The former Eastern High star announced today he would forego his final season
Rutgers junior cornerback Logan Ryan has decided to forego his final college season and enter the NFL draft. A former Inquirer South Jersey player of the year from Eastern, Ryan announced his decision during a Monday press conference.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Ryan started all 13 games and was second on the team in both tackles (94) and interceptions (4). He also had a team-high 18 pass breakups.
"The main factor is I am a competitor and I love challenges and felt read for the next challenge for me," Ryan said in a phone interview.
Ryan says he will now focus on choosing an agent and preparing for the NFL draft.
As for getting any feedback, Ryan said that he spoke to some former Rutgers teammates such defensive back Devin McCourty of the New England Patriots and rookie receiver Mohamed Sanu of the Cincinnati Bengals.
"I asked them if they thought I could play at the NFL level and they both said I could," Ryan said.
This season Ryan was a first-team all-Big East selection. He was also named to Pro Football Weekly's First-team All-American squad.
A semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which awards the top defensive back in college football, Ryan is the only player in the nation with at least 90 tackle, four interceptions and 18 passes defended.
Ryan was a two-year starter after redshirting his first year and appearing in 11 games and making nine tackles his second.
For his career he had 170 tackles and seven interceptions.
Contact Marc Narducci at mnarducci@phillynews.com or @sjnard on Twitter.