Ryan Nassib: 5 Things You Need to Know About the Syracuse QB

There was zero buzz about a man named Ryan Nassib heading into draft season.

After all, Syracuse hasn't exactly been a powerhouse lately, and there are much bigger fish to fry, right?

Not so anymore, as Nassib has risen through the ranks to challenge the likes of Geno Smith and Matt Barkley, in name at the very least. Here are five things you need to know about him as he takes his game to the next level.

Combine results courtesy of NFL.com. College stats courtesy of sports-reference.com.

Background

Full Name: Ryan Paul Nassib

Birthday: March 10, 1990

Hometown: West Chester, Pennsylvania

School: Syracuse

Major: Finance (currently pursing a master's degree in accounting)

Year: Graduate

Twitter: @Ryan_Nassib (not verified)

The Nassib family is chock full of athletes.

Ryan's father, Gil, played football at Delaware. Nassib also has a cousin playing cornerback at Syracuse, and his younger brother plays defensive end for Penn State. 

Collegiate Stats

A big reason why there was no buzz around Ryan Nassib was the fact that he didn't put up big numbers throughout his career. 

Geno Smith nearly put up Nassib's career stats in just the past two seasons. He did, however, have decent rushing numbers considering sacks count negatively toward those yardage totals. This is a bit surprising given the lack of athleticism he showcased at the combine.

Passing

Year	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	AY/A	TD	Int	Rate
2009	36	68	52.9	422	6.2	6.4	3	1	116.7
2010	202	358	56.4	2334	6.5	6.6	19	8	124.2
2011	259	415	62.4	2685	6.5	6.6	22	9	129.9
2012	294	471	62.4	3749	8	8.1	26	10	143.3
Career	791	1312	60.3	9190	7	7.1	70	28	132.5

Rushing

Year	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2009	27	26	1	0
2010	66	-39	-0.6	1
2011	65	39	0.6	2
2012	84	142	1.7	2
Career	242	168	0.7	5

Draft Process

Measurables

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 227 lbs.

Arm Length: 32"

Hand Size: 10 1/8"

Combine Results

40-yard dash: 5.06 seconds

225-pound bench press reps: 22 (top performer)

Broad jump: 105.0 inches 

Vertical jump: 28.5 inches 

20-yard shuttle: 4.53 seconds 

Three-cone drill: 7.34 seconds 

Syracuse ran the read-option a bit with Nassib at the helm, and he didn't look bad doing it. You wouldn't know it based on his weak combine results.

There were mammoth offensive linemen who performed better than Nassib. He was among the worst performers in combine events outside the bench press.

The NFL Connection

The biggest—not to mention easiest, and potentially laziest—connection Ryan Nassib has to the NFL right now is his former head coach at Syracuse.

Doug Marrone was hired as Buffalo's skipper after a few years at Syracuse, which immediately tied Nassib to Buffalo. 

This might simply be a product of an obvious connection, but the Bills do need a quarterback. That is, unless they really think Kevin Kolb is the answer.

The question is whether or not Marrone would want to spend the No. 8 overall pick on his former college quarterback. While some guys might have him at the top of their boards, others have him in the middle of the pack at quarterback.

A second-round selection is more likely if Nassib lasts that long.

Observations

Ryan Nassib came out of nowhere, but the Twitterverse has gotten to know him since he made his grand entrance onto the draft scene. Here are some observations from said Twitterverse:

"

I still don't see how Ryan Nassib is any better than Jake Locker coming out of college.

"

"— Ian Kenyon (@IanKenyonNFL) April 10, 2013"

"

I would be absolutely stunned if Ryan Nassib makes it to the Bills in Round 2. Same goes for Matt Barkley.

— Chris Trapasso (@ChrisTrapasso) April 12, 2013"

"

Had Ryan Nassib going No. 8 overall last week in my mock draft. Seeing him talked about as No. 1 overall is shocking, but possible.

"

"— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 20, 2013"

"
"

"

I'm kind of dreading the #Bills taking Nassib if only for all the built-in apologists (aka Orange fans) he'll have from day one. #BillsMafia

— Del Reid (@mrdeadlier) April 22, 2013"

"

I think it is happening RT @jhelkowski: I'm surprised that you have, Nassib as the first QB off the board.

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) April 22, 2013"

"

Not saying QB is responsible for all of it, of course. But Nassib's 7-1 TD-Int differential, in all weather, was key.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) April 7, 2013"

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