Ryan has plenty of connections to Giants

The red and white NFL jersey hangs on a wall in Will Blackmon's home, a constant reminder of a friendship forged on the FieldTurf of Boston College's Alumni Stadium.

Written on the back of it in black marker are the words: "To Will, my first playmaker.''

Blackmon was Matt Ryan's go-to guy back in the day. And after Ryan's NFL dreams were realized in Atlanta, the quarterback shipped the autographed jersey to Blackmon's home in Green Bay.

"I was his guy," Blackmon, now a punt returner for the Giants, said of their college days together. "It was he and I the whole time."

But their BC ties will be put to the side Sunday when the Giants (9-7) host Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons (10-6) in an NFC wild-card game at MetLife Stadium.

Those Boston College connections run deep in the Giants organization. President / CEO / co-owner John Mara, his wife, Denise, and three of their daughters graduated from BC; five of his siblings attended the university, where Mara's youngest daughter, Erin, is now a senior; Tom Coughlin spent three years as BC's head coach in the early '90s, and Mathias Kiwanuka, Chris Snee and Mark Herzlich spent time with Ryan during their college careers.

"I played with all those guys at BC and know all of them well," said Ryan, 26, a Philadelphia native. " . . . It'll be fun to play against them and see them and I'm happy for their success."

But make no mistake, Kiwanuka said, friendships are immaterial on the gridiron. "He's a great kid," the Giants linebacker said, "but in terms of how we're going to match up, he's just an opposing player this week."

Ryan put up stats similar to Eli Manning this season, completing 347 of 566 passes en route to a franchise-record 4,177 yards, 29 touchdowns and a 92.2 passer rating. Manning completed 359 of 589 passes for a franchise-record 4,933 yards, 29 TDs and a 92.9 passer rating.

The Falcons are in the playoffs for the second straight year and the third time in four years. Despite losing his only two playoff games after the 2008 and '10 seasons, Ryan has garnered a reputation for being clutch. Just like Manning. "They're both confident leaders," said Herzlich, who grew up not too far from the Ryan family and played with him at BC for two years.

Ryan never was the shy type. By the time he graduated from William Penn Charter School, the three-sport athlete had earned the nickname "Matty Ice" for his calm demeanor under pressure. So it was no surprise that when he arrived on BC's campus as a redshirt freshman in 2003, Ryan knew he belonged. He was assertive, strong-willed and expected nothing less than the best from himself and his teammates.

"He wanted everybody to be perfect," Herzlich said.

Ryan finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting his senior year after being named the ACC Player of the Year, winning the Manning Award (given to the nation's best QB), setting the school single-season record for passing yards (4,507) and breaking Doug Flutie's single-season TD record with 31. Ryan was the first quarterback (and third overall pick) in the 2008 NFL draft.

Snee, the Giants' right guard, was a senior during Ryan's redshirt season but was well aware of the youngster's potential.

"I remember the coaches saying, 'This kid could be something special,' " Snee said. "Just the way he tore apart our defense and how vocal he was. He was barking at guys and that's very rare as a freshman coming in your first year."

Despite his age and inexperience, Ryan always was comfortable in his skin, said Blackmon.

"You know that 'It' factor? He had 'It' right away," he said. "He wasn't afraid to speak his mind. If he disagreed with a call he'd let the coordinator know. Guys believed in him. They followed him."

Like Manning, who lost his first two playoff games following the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Ryan has an opportunity to change the course of his franchise. "All the stuff that happened in the past doesn't really make a difference," Ryan said. "It comes down to preparing well this week and doing whatever we can to try and keep advancing through the playoffs."