Tall, slender. A reddish tinge to his short-cropped hair. A studious, understated demeanor.

And Ryan doesn't disagree.

"Funny story," the senior quarterback said Sunday at the ACC Football Kickoff. "There's a tradition [at BC] of getting everybody up to sing as freshmen. I'm called up first -- first night -- and some guy in the back yells out, 'I didn't know we recruited Coach O'Brien's son.' "

"My face got all red, just like Coach O'Brien's. I guess that's the luck of being Irish."

For the last three years, Ryan was O'Brien's kind of quarterback, an O'Brien creation of sorts: cool, accurate, efficient. Ryan was the ACC's total offense leader in 2006, often leaving defenders red-faced. He was named first-team All-ACC as the Eagles finished 10-3.

"He has great composure, is an excellent passer and a great competitor," Duke senior safety Chris Davis said. "There were different kinds of quarterbacks in the ACC last year, but he set himself aside from the rest on the top tier."

Then, seemingly in a flash, O'Brien was gone. In early December, after 10 years at BC, the coach accepted N.C. State's offer to be the Pack's new coach. After the announcement in Raleigh, O'Brien returned to Boston for a final meeting with his players.

It was, in a word, emotional. Ryan was among those most stunned by O'Brien's decision, and as the two parted, Ryan said, "Now I'm going to kick your butt." Asked about the parting shot Sunday, Ryan laughed.

"That was said in jest, good-naturedly," he said.

Then time passed. Jeff Jagodzinski, the offensive coordinator for the Green Packers last year, was named BC's coach. Former East Carolina coach Steve Logan was brought in as offensive coordinator. Soon, it was on to spring practice.

Then came the ACC Football Kickoff, which began Sunday. Ryan did a double-take when he spotted O'Brien in a red shirt.

"Definitely different, seeing him in N.C. State colors," Ryan said. "In my whole time at Boston College, it has been Tom O'Brien. It's different. It's something you have to get used to."

Some at BC are not as fully accepting. Senior linebacker Jolonn Dunbar, while maintaining respect for his former coach, said there still is some lingering resentment about the breakup.

"You get to know somebody, then he's gone," Dunbar said. "It's like a marriage when the parents divorce. There's some animosity."

Ryan insisted there is none on his part. Nor will there be on Sept. 8, the redshirt senior said, when O'Brien and the Pack visit Boston for an ACC game that should drip with drama.

"It will be about winning the game, nothing else," Ryan said.

Ryan has won a lot at BC -- albeit with a 17-15 loss at NCSU last fall. He's 14-4 as a starter and played much of last season with a stress fracture in his left foot that required surgery in January.

"Probably the most impressive thing about Matt Ryan is his determination and leadership," Wake Forest defensive end Jeremy Thompson said. "Last year he had an injury but you would have never known it. He played tough and didn't show any signs of slowing down."

About half of the ACC's teams will go into fall camp next month with questions about the starting quarterback, Jagodzinski has his man. Logan's job is also made a lot easier.

Jagodzinski, who worked with Brett Favre at Green Bay, has called Ryan "unbelievably smart," while Logan has praised his ability to absorb a new offensive structure while "going a thousand miles an hour."

"Coach Logan is an awesome guy [and] a lot of fun to work with," Ryan said with a grin. "He's got some funny lines -- some of them I have no idea what he's talking about.

"He's a great, great coach. He relates to you on a personal level and he's so knowledgeable about the game of football. He's very aggressive in his [offensive] approach but in the same light he wants you to be smart with the football, as well."

Ryan probably will be that way with the ball. It's the way Tom O'Brien first taught him.