Gamp Pellegrini has seen his fair share of high school players in his 30 years as head football coach at Malvern Prep (Pa.) High School. So when the long-tenured coach tried to think of a player his former quarterback and Syracuse recruit, Ryan Nassib, reminded him of, there were plenty of options to choose from. The answer, though, lay in an upcoming first-round pick in the NFL Draft.

‘He reminds me a whole lot of (Boston College quarterback) Matt Ryan,’ Pellegrini said of Nassib. ‘He reminds me a whole lot of what Matt was in high school.’

Syracuse can only hope Nassib’s career will mirror that of Ryan, who is a projected top pick in the April 26 NFL Draft. Pellegrini said both quarterbacks have the ability to move in or out of the pocket and make plays, and both possess strong arms.

Nassib, a two-star recruit according to Scout.com, is Syracuse’s only recruit at quarterback and adds more depth to an already deep position. He is the product of a Malvern Prep school which produced former Syracuse punter Brendan Carney.

Nassib led Malvern Prep to a 9-1 record last season, while throwing for 1,237 yards. Pellegrini said Nassib could have had better stats, but the team often ran the ball because it built large leads on its opponents. As a junior, he threw for 17 touchdowns.

The similarity between the two quarterbacks begins in their proximity within Pennsylvania. Ryan attended Penn Charter high school, a rival school in the same league as Malvern.

Coaching against Ryan for his high school years gave Pellegrini plenty of chances to see the former BC quarterback and make the comparison to Nassib.

One area he said the two were similar in during their high school days was the ability to move around in the pocket. Although he said neither quarterback is necessarily the fastest player on the field, they both could move in the pocket and still make plays, which becomes important when defensive ends are able to beat the tackles and cause pressure from the edge.

Nassib said that is one of his strengths in his game, being able to adapt to the situation and make a play on the run.

‘Throwing on the run is one of my strengths,’ Nassib said. ‘I did that a lot in my last two years in high school. (With) high school linemen, it’s hard to stay in the pocket very long, so I was forced to break free a lot, and a lot of the time, I had to throw on the run, break out of the pocket a bit, set up and throw. I got a lot of experience doing that.’

Nassib had plenty of experience doing such in a game against Salesianum. In that game, he said the two solid defensive ends were able to beat Malvern’s young tackles quite often, which made him roll to the left and the right for the whole game. Despite the pressure, Nassib was able to throw and rush for a touchdown in a 38-0 win.

Perhaps the biggest similarity between the two, though, is located within their throwing arms, as both have strong arms and the ability to connect on the deep ball.

Often this season, Ryan was shown in highlights making deep throws that helped lead Boston College through the rankings and rack up great statistics. Having the ability to air the ball out and make the big play is something Nassib is known for.

‘He has the big-time arm,’ Pellegrini said. ‘He has a gun. I don’t know if there is a limit to how far he can just throw the ball if he just unloads it.’

Nassib said since a young age, the reason he played quarterback was his strong arm. In high school, he had to learn how to put some touch on the ball and just not air it out because his receivers were not able to catch the balls.

Beyond the physical attributes the quarterbacks possess, the former Pennsylvania high school football stars are both complimented on their ability to be cerebral quarterbacks, both on the field and academically.

Gil Nassib, who played football at Delaware, said that is one of his son’s strongest traits.

‘He’s a very cerebral kid,’ Nassib’s father said. ‘He’s a student of the game. He enjoys studying the game, he enjoys studying the opponent at the same time. I think in today’s game, especially at the college level and at the Syracuse level, you have to know the game and be cerebral in my opinion, so I think he has the physical attributes, and at the same time he is a thinking man’s player.’

The academic component is what helped lure Nassib to Syracuse. He said the great academic situation and the football program’s tradition were some of the main factors. Although he does not know what he wants to major in, he will be a student in the highly regarded Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

Nassib has a long road ahead of him if he wants to be in Matt Ryan’s shoes four years from now. But that doesn’t mean he won’t try to follow in his footsteps.

‘I always watched him on Saturday’s, and he always came up big in the big time situations,’ Nassib said. ‘He’s a really humble kid and he comes from a good family. I just really look up to his work ethic. He doesn’t take anything for granted, he comes out each and every week and tries to play his hardest, and that’s a kid I’ll always try to play toward.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on April 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm