Boston College QB Matt Ryan wins over admirers with his talent, demeanor .

Spend five minutes listening to or observing Boston College senior quarterback Matt Ryan, and he seems almost too good to be true.

He's a plain-spoken, articulate guy who sounded sincere Wednesday when he described what it was like to spend the 2007 season as a Heisman Trophy candidate. "The personal stuff has never been something that's been very important to me, and I don't think that'll change," Ryan said.

But even though he may deny it, Matt Ryan is the marquee player heading into Friday's Champs Sports Bowl between Boston College and Michigan State.

He won Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year honors in a landslide after he threw for 4,258 yards and 28 touchdowns. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. ranks him as the fourth-best overall prospect and the top quarterback eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft.

And, now, count Michigan State players among his admirers.

"To me, I think he's the best quarterback in the country," said Spartans senior defensive end Ervin Baldwin. "This guy's making throws and making reads that NFL quarterbacks make."

Yet when Boston College coaches and players are asked about Ryan, they rarely mention his on-field exploits. They marvel at how down-to-earth he is.

Two summers ago, linebacker Mark Herzlich was just a first-year freshman trying to keep up during an offseason seven-on-seven passing drill that Matt Ryan had organized. Herzlich's little brother, Brad, was sitting in the stands, and Ryan interrupted the workout to invite Brad onto the field to run routes.

"He's just a nice, caring guy," Mark Herzlich said. "He is the best leader that I've probably ever known."

Matt Ryan reminds Eagles Coach Jeff Jagodzinski of another former Boston College quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, who now plays for the Seattle Seahawks.

"If you had a son, that's who you'd want him to be," Jagodzinski said of Matt Ryan. "That's the best way you can describe that guy."

Ryan's Heisman campaign started after he threw for 435 yards and a touchdown in Boston College's 24-10 win over Georgia Tech on Sept. 15. A few days later, the school's publicists called him into a meeting and told him they wanted to promote him for the trophy.

Ryan blushed. He turned red as a ripe tomato, said Chris Cameron, the school's associate athletic director for media relations.

He didn't win the Heisman, of course.

He just doesn't seem bitter.

On Wednesday, he told reporters that he had just seen the winner, Florida's Tim Tebow, before a bowl function at the Orange County Convention Center.

"That was pretty cool!" Ryan said, again seeming perfectly serious.

Is it sarcasm?

Earlier this month, just before a Boston College practice in Chestnut Hill, he did tell teammates that they were scheduled to do extra running and agility drills, said running back Andre Callender.

There was no extra running. There were no extra agility drills.

But teammates appreciated the joke, anyway.

Just like they appreciate him.

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