Ryan felt right at home with other 2021 commits on recent visit

Last month, when four-star linebacker Josh McCarron took his long-awaited trip east to see Charlottesville for the first time, he didn’t come alone.

Among the future teammates who decided to make their way to UVa at the same time was Aidan Ryan, one of nine others that took an “unofficial” unofficial visit at the same time.

As was to be expected, it was an unforgettable experience.

“Yeah, it was just one day out of the blue,” Ryan told CavsCorner recently. “We have a Snapchat group chat and Josh was like, ‘Yeah, I think we're going to come to UVa. Do any of y’all boys want to come and just come check it out and get to meet each other?’ because we knew we were on a dead period. So, a bunch of us were like ‘Yeah, let's make the most out of it.’”

When you’ve spent as much time talking as these 2021 commits have, there’s bound to be a natural comfort level. But meeting someone face to face is obviously even more impactful. That was certainly what Ryan thought going in and what he took away from the trip.

“I already knew they were great people, just from talking to them over the phone and stuff,” the three-star James Monroe standout said. “But when I met them, it was just a whole new ballpark. Like, you really get to see these people and know that they're your brothers, guys you're going to lean on for the next four or five years. So getting to meet them and getting that head start on it was just a great opportunity for all of us.”

Unfortunately for those in this recruiting class, the NCAA’s seven-month long dead period doesn’t allow them to take traditional trips. For several guys who are in UVa’s 2021 class thus far, they have yet to even tour the school and facilities with the coaching staff.

That’s why McCarron idea/invitation meant so much.

“So, because there wasn't really much to do I felt like we got the opportunity to really get to know each other instead of getting caught up in whatever we're doing,” Ryan explained. “But we went out for food and we got to really know each other. That's sort of the first thing we did after we met everybody and their families. So we went out for food and just started talking from there on. It was funny, we really just felt that instant connection. It felt like a family immediately. Everybody was comfortable around each other. It was just an overall really good atmosphere.”

For McCarron, outside linebacker’s coach Kelly Poppinga had made a sort of “cheat sheet” for seeing all of the various things he and his family would need. For Ryan, DB’s coach Nick Howell helped as well.

“Yeah, he called us while we were eating,” the Fredericksburg native recalled. “And he was like, ‘You guys should go check out the new practice fields.’ So as soon as we got done eating, we all hopped in our cars and headed over there. It was beautiful to see that in person.”

Asked what kinds of fun or unexpected things he learned about his future teammates during their time together on Grounds, Ryan said that he did pick up on one random thing about three-star LB Michael Green.

“I learned that Mike really likes fried chicken sandwiches from Boylan Heights,” Ryan said with a laugh. “As soon as he took a bite, he stood up and walked around saying it was so good.

The meeting with the other commits further solidified for Ryan and the others that they had made the right choice. To hear him tell it, the pandemic itself has done that too even if Bronco Mendenhall could never have envisioned when he began to build the class what they were building toward.

“One of the first calls that I ever had with Coach Mendenhall, he taught me something,” Ryan explained. “This was like as soon as I committed. He said, ‘The point of UVa football and having your brothers is to go through tough things together.’ Going through tough things, you work on yourself but you also work on becoming better friends and better family with each other. You get to endure those tough things and really just become stronger as a whole.

“So with this whole COVID thing,” he added, “I would say that that's brought us together tremendously. You know, we've talked about what our states are doing, what our plans are, if anybody’s early enrolling, just trying to find common ground and seeing what the differences are.”

Of course, before Ryan can make his way to Charlottesville to play for the Wahoos, he’s got a high school career to finish. Given the VHSL’s decision to postpose football until spring, he’s not sure what his next move will be.

“So, they’ve guaranteed that there's no fall football this year, which is so sad,” Ryan said. “That one hurt my heart. So, I’m just playing play it by ear, talking about it with my mom, seeing what the best option is for me. And I just really want to see how the rest of the year is going to progress.”

Might enrolling early be on the table then?

“I’m going to see if it is,” he said. “That's one of the things I’ve really got to weigh and see if it's the right move. I’m just really taking my time with it, making sure I'm very, very clear with what I want to do and make sure I make the right decision.”

In the meantime, the now 200-pound Ryan's focus is simply on putting in the work to prepare for the coming transition regardless of when it happens.

“I would definitely say that I've taken this time to really just become the best me,” he said. “I’ve been working out a lot and that's big for me. I have less body fat than before, gained about half an inch, and then I'm really just working on on-field skills as well. Working on my hips because, reading all the recruiting things, that's one of my major fixes. So I figured I wanted to fix that as fast as possible before I get to that level, right? So I'm working on the fluidity in my hips and really just becoming a better DB. I know I'm going to be going up against great competition so I have to work for it.”

It’s been fun too, he added, to transition between being a recruit and being a recruiter.

“It's great,” Ryan said, “because you go from being in a place where you're so stressed out, ‘I don't know which one I'm going to pick; I don't know if I want to do this or that.’ Then when you make that decision, you finally feel comfortable. You meet all of the guys and then you can help other people join the program which is awesome. Like, it's creating a movement because this 2021 class for UVa is dawgs. That's all it is, we’re a bunch of go-getters.

“We're all really hard working,” he added. “I think that when we show that to other kids, we might not even have to show it to them and they want to come on board because it really is a special program.”

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