Like most of his senior teammates on the 2007 Montana football team, the ex-linebacker is looking for something to fill the void. He played his last football game for the Griz two weeks ago and is still getting used to the idea.
“It’s been a weird feeling,” Ryan said. “I struggle to find what to do with myself, mostly spending more time with my studies. Without football and practice and working out, it’s opened a lot of hours in my day.
Given time to sit back and reflect on a first-round playoff loss to Wofford two weeks ago, Ryan has come to a conclusion: The Griz turned in a strong effort that simply fell short. Just like his coach, Bobby Hauck, Ryan feared Montana’s limited preparation time for the Terriers’ complicated offense might be a disadvantage.
“Going in I knew it would take our best game,” said Ryan, a co-captain on this year’s team. “They show things you never see during the season with that (triple-option) offense.
“I was pretty surprised with their loss (last) Saturday. I guess I underestimated Richmond holding Wofford to 10 points.”
The Terriers were bounced from the playoffs with a 21-10 home loss to the Spiders. Wofford, which ended the season 9-4, was held to just 195 yards on the ground after averaging 319.3 per game coming in.
In addition to tough run defense, the Spiders forced two fumbles, recovered a muffed snap on a punt and intercepted a pass. Bottom line, Richmond created breaks that would have come in handy for the Griz.
“We didn’t get the breaks against Wofford that we were getting most of the season,” said Ryan, whose older brother, Pat, played linebacker for Notre Dame.
Ryan hasn’t spent much time keeping track of the FCS playoffs since the Griz were eliminated. But the Billings native does have an opinion on the race for a national title.
“Of course you have to look at Appy State. They won the last two (titles), so you have to consider them being the favorite,” Ryan said. “They’ve had a good run of success. We knew in that initial week looking at the bracket that if we continued to win we’d most likely play Appy in the semifinals.
“But we knew Wofford would be a tough team. I really felt good about our chances if we got by Wofford.”
Although college playoffs haven’t kept Ryan glued to the television, he does enjoy watching major college football. He’ll take in more than his share of the tube when the bowls roll around.
In the meantime, the business administration major will continue to work hard on his academic - and athletic - endeavors.
“I’ve waited eight years to ski just because I didn’t want to risk my knees,” he said. “And lifting will always be a habit for me, even though I forced myself not to work out for a little while after the end of the season to help my body recover.
“Next week I’ll start running again, and even though my eating habits have changed here a little, eventually I’ll get back to what I have been doing. I think all of us on the football team will keep feeding our competitive juices, whether it be with basketball or softball or whatever.”
Columnist Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net.
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