By Kim J. Harmon

 

Hmmmmn – punting in a city that gets about a million feet of snow every winter for a Division I school (Buffalo) that routinely gets beat by five touchdowns or quarterbacking for a Division III school (WPI) known even more for its curriculum than its football team.

What would you do?

Well, Tom Ryan (139-for-332 with 1,879 yards and 25 TDs in two years) has chosen Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. His numbers on the gridiron have not been spectacular, but he has ability (he knows that and his coach knows that) and thus has something to prove.

“I know I could play,” said Tom, 18. “Buffalo wanted me to go there and punt and I thought, hey, I could do that. But if I could play quarterback, I wanted to do that and WPI is giving me the opportunity.”

SUNY Buffalo, Johns Hopkins, and Virginia Tech were a few of the schools Tom was taking a long look at. But Virginia Tech was a little too far away from the homestead (with his parents ready to move to Syracuse) and John Hopkins did not have a spot for him, so his choices were narrowed.

“Coach (Ken) Roberts did a lot in getting me out there,” said Tom. “He really wanted me to play in college.”

As it was, Tom had a much more impressive lacrosse career at Newtown High School (147 career goals and a blistering side-armed shot that was almost unstoppable highlight his resume) and he had to at least give that avenue a look see.

“I didn’t really know what would happen with football,” said Tom, “but with lacrosse it’s a little harder to get recruited and I wanted to go to a bigger school. I thought I could have gone Division I.”

The opportunities he was looking for didn’t materialize and, thus, he focused his energies on football. The numbers in high school might not be awe-inspiring, but Tom Ryan has size and a big-time arm and now a new lease on his football life.