All grown up
Watson, Ryan set to meet as NFL peers for first time
Deshaun Watson and Matt Ryan are about to face off as NFL quarterbacks for the first time.
When the Houston Texans (2-2) host the Atlanta Falcons (1-3) today, Watson and Ryan will compete as peers. That’s just how Watson imagined it when he first met Ryan in 2010.
Watson was a freshman at Gainesville High School, 10 miles north of the Falcons’ complex in Flowery Branch, Georgia, when he got a job as a ball boy. He developed a quick friendship with Ryan, learning about big-time football long before he became a college star at Clemson.
As a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County, Watson participated in a program started by Falcons owner Arthur Blank and was given all sorts of tasks with the team.
“I did the equipment, washed the laundry, I threw to all the receivers, threw with Matt Ryan, watched him throw, did some of the water stuff, helped Arthur Blank out,” Watson said. “I did pretty much everything. I was there for four years and kind of got the whole experience. It was awesome to be able to watch everything, watch the walk-throughs, watch the practices and learn.”
He looks forward to seeing Ryan, receiver Julio Jones and other Falcons employees still with the team.
“Me looking up to all those guys, it was special because they helped me pave the way to the position that I’m in today,” he said.
Ryan remembers that time well.
“Geez, it feels like just yesterday that he was here launching balls to our receivers during training camp,” Ryan said. “He’d always be down at the (Georgia) Dome on Sundays after games and before games helping out.
“It’s been amazing to watch his career in college and now in the NFL. I’m happy for him. I’m proud of him. He’s a great player and a great competitor, and he’s had a great career so far.”
Ryan never saw him play in high school, but he heard all about it as Watson led Gainesville to a state title and set a few state records for passing yards and touchdowns.
“We had a bunch of players from Gainesville that came down and worked,” Ryan said. “They would come in sometimes on Saturdays. They were around quite a bit. We definitely followed the Red Elephants, man. We followed them while they were rolling at Gainesville.”
The Texans were flat on offense last week in a 16-10 home loss to Carolina despite the Panthers being without injured starter Cam Newton, but the matchup against Ryan is seemingly in their favor. Atlanta has dropped two straight and is coming off a 24-10 setback at home to the Tennessee Titans, an ugly offensive outing as Ryan couldn’t sustain drives behind a makeshift line that is still dealing with injuries.
The Falcons failed to convert on three of four fourth-down chances and were 36% on third down as they took their sixth straight loss to an AFC opponent and their 12th defeat in their past 13 cross-conference games.