Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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cess during the summer leading up to his senior year. Ryan said he continues to commu- nicate with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams and Michigan head coach John Beilein, although he is firm in his pledge to Notre Dame. Those three programs recruited Ryan but did not extend an offer prior to the prospect suffering the torn labrum. "The injury definitely affected my recruitment," he said. "Coach K and Coach Williams and Coach Beilein wanted to see me play a game or two, and they were going to offer. I'm really happy with my decision, and I fell in love with Notre Dame. "Those coaches still contact me. I still have a great relationship with those coaches, so it's not that I won't answer them, but I committed to Notre Dame." FILM ANALYSIS Strengths Matt Ryan fills the role of a sharpshooter on the roster — he is one of the best in the 2015 class — a main ingredient of any successful Mike Brey team … Plays solid competition at Iona Prep and will be ready to contribute as a freshman … His competitive fire rivals that of past successful Irish players Ben Hansbrough and Jack Cooley. Areas For Improvement Knows he needs to work on his strength after the torn labrum has kept him sidelined these past few months (he is expected to be cleared for game action in August) … His skills as a shooter are well noted, but his ability to drive and create his own shot will need to improve in the ACC … While he focused on improving his defensive play prior to the injury, he will need to upgrade his performance on that end of the court against ACC competition. — Andrew Owens