East Carolina has pulled the trigger on an offer for Monroe High athlete Aidan Ryan out of Fredricksburg, Virginia on Wednesday.
The 6-1, 193 pounder has the ability to cover in the secondary, come up and make big time tackles and on offense he has great hands and speed with an ability to find an open lane. He runs solid routes as a receiver and did a quality job at quarterback as well.
Ryan currently holds over thirty offers both big, small and in between. They include Virginia, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Navy, Army, Hawaii along with nearby James Madison, Liberty, William & Mary and Georgetown and several Ivy League institutions in addition to the Pirates.
Others that are showing varying degrees of interest include Penn State, North Carolina and Virginia Tech, all three of which he has visited.
Ryan is being recruited as a safety by new ECU safeties coach Tripp Weaver who is forging a solid relationship with the rising senior in the hopes of landing him for the Pirates.
“I was really happy to get that offer from them. I’ve talked to them for a little while, so it was nice that they finally pulled the trigger,” said Ryan, “I went down there last year on a game day visit when they played the University of South Florida. I really liked the atmosphere there. The fans there are really cool. They said hi in the streets and everything which was nice to see.”
“Like all the other ones, it was just a blessing because the opportunity to go to school and get a degree doing the thing I love is just awesome.”
Depending on the need, Ryan plays at four different positions including quarterback, wide receiver, safety and cornerback in high school.
“East Carolina is looking at me as a safety,” Ryan told PirateIllustrated.com, “The good thing is that I got to visit ECU last year and I’ve stayed in contact with them ever since. Coach Weaver has gone through most of the basic stuff. He was just running through everything we’ve been through before.”
Monroe High went 9-4 last season, falling 20-7 the regional championship to Goochland to snap a seven game win streak.
Ryan is being recruited as a safety by most of the schools that have offered while a few are looking at him as a receiver or said he could choose which side of the ball he wants to play on. The rising senior talked about the schools who are standing out at the moment.
“I’d definitely say that all of the Power 5’s (that have offered) are standing out to me. Now that ECU has their hat in the ring, I’d say ECU as well as Temple, Old Dominion and Hawaii. It will be tough to make a choice.”
In addition to a stellar season in the defensive secondary, Ryan accounted for 2,400 yards of total offense including 1,300 plus passing yards in his first year as a quarterback, 700 rushing and receiving yards and 400 return yards on special teams.
“I’m looking for a place with good academics and a good ball program and a good social life because I know the majority of my life is going to be football, but I want to make sure that I enjoy my life when I’m off the field.”
So where do the Pirates stand in the big scheme of things for Ryan’s potential commitment?
“ECU is definitely in my top eight that I’m coming out with next week,” Ryan told PI, “I am hoping to commit on Mother’s Day, but all of my coaches told me that if you’re not ready then don’t rush it. I was actually going to commit on my Mother’s birthday which is on October 30th but the whole virus thing has messed things up.”
“I told Coach Weaver my (projected) commitment date and there is a reason behind it. The whole coronavirus thing is throwing everything off and there are a lot of unknowns. I don’t know when I’ll be able to go on visits again, so I want to get that done because if it takes longer than it’s supposed to I don’t want there to be a panic because there weren’t enough slots left on a roster.”
Stay tuned to PirateIllustrated.com where we will keep you up to date on the very latest as coverage of the ECU class of 2021 continues.
