Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Football’s Ryland Kicks His Way to a Scholarship
8/17/2020 9:53:00 AM | Football
The Lebanon, Pa. booted game-winning kicks against Purdue and Illinois
Video Interview.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – A junior soccer player joins his high school football team and eventually ends up walking on to a Division I football team. Coach calls upon this player in the middle of a pressure packed situation needing to make a play to win "the big game" for his team. He delivers the win and his team presents him with a scholarship.
Sounds like a great Hollywood script, right? No way could it happen in real life some might say.
For Eastern Michigan University junior kicker Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest), this is no script drafted in Tinseltown USA. Through hard work and dedication, Ryland beat the odds and is living proof that dreams can become reality.
Ryland recently received some welcome information from Eastern Michigan Head Coach Chris Creighton. On Sunday, Aug. 9, Creighton offered the place-kicker a scholarship after spending his first two seasons as a walk-on for the Eagles.
"I'm super stoked to be here," Ryland said. "If you would have told me when I was a junior in high school I would end up on a full-ride scholarship at Ypsilanti, Michigan, playing for Eastern Michigan, I would have told you (that) you were nuts. But that's how life works sometimes, it takes you in crazy directions."
Not bad for a guy who only began place-kicking as a junior at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, Pa.
After receiving a football as a Christmas present, Ryland went out to the football field and just started kicking. Before long he was backing up and drilling 50-yard field goals with no experience or coaching. From that point on the rest is history.
"It's certainly a pretty great feeling, for sure," Ryland said. "I'm blessed to have the opportunity to do it in the first place, because a lot of guys coming out of high school (as a kicker) aren't getting scholarships. It's nice to see that the hard work paid off."
"I got to the recruiting party and college football a little late. I knew coming out of high school that there probably wasn't gonna be a scholarship waiting for me. But just the opportunity to play at a high FBS level was the goal, and Eastern gave me the opportunity and I was lucky enough to win the job as a freshman."
Growing up just a short car ride away from "The Sweetest Place on Earth" in Hershey, Pa., Ryland has been lucky enough to be a part of some of pretty "sweet" moments in the football program's history.
In just his second collegiate contest, Ryland's 24-yard field goal as time expired pushed EMU past Purdue University, 20-19, Sept. 8, 2018. Then 371 days later, he added to his legacy with another 24-yarder as the clock turned to zero to best the University of Illinois, 34-31, Sept. 14, 2019.
Through 26 career games, Ryland is 26-for-39 on field goals with three makes from 50-plus yards out, and is 76-for-79 on PATs. Overall, he is tied for fifth all-time in extra points made and attempted at EMU, while he has connected on the seventh-most field goals in program history. Furthermore, with a 52-yarder versus Ball State in 2019, Ryland joined Dylan Mulder (2012-15) as the only players in school history to drill three kicks of 51-or-longer yards.
"He has a maturity about him," added Creighton of his third-year kicker. "His focus, his desire to be better - those are all character qualities that he possesses at a really a high level that we want to be a part of our team. He's had some (kicks) that he wishes he could have back – but that's true for every kicker, punter, quarterback, or player at every position. As a coach, we love his mental makeup, love who he is, and we think he's really, really talented."
As for the scholarship, there was no grand gesture or ceremony to announce it - just a quiet meeting in Coach Creighton's office, which was just what the laid-back Ryland was looking for.
"I'm not into the fireworks thing and jumping out of airplanes," he said, with a smile. "There's a bigger picture for me. Nothing really changes for me with my mental approach. But it's a weight off my shoulders, for sure. I'm thankful for that."
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – A junior soccer player joins his high school football team and eventually ends up walking on to a Division I football team. Coach calls upon this player in the middle of a pressure packed situation needing to make a play to win "the big game" for his team. He delivers the win and his team presents him with a scholarship.
Sounds like a great Hollywood script, right? No way could it happen in real life some might say.
For Eastern Michigan University junior kicker Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest), this is no script drafted in Tinseltown USA. Through hard work and dedication, Ryland beat the odds and is living proof that dreams can become reality.
Ryland recently received some welcome information from Eastern Michigan Head Coach Chris Creighton. On Sunday, Aug. 9, Creighton offered the place-kicker a scholarship after spending his first two seasons as a walk-on for the Eagles.
"I'm super stoked to be here," Ryland said. "If you would have told me when I was a junior in high school I would end up on a full-ride scholarship at Ypsilanti, Michigan, playing for Eastern Michigan, I would have told you (that) you were nuts. But that's how life works sometimes, it takes you in crazy directions."
Not bad for a guy who only began place-kicking as a junior at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, Pa.
After receiving a football as a Christmas present, Ryland went out to the football field and just started kicking. Before long he was backing up and drilling 50-yard field goals with no experience or coaching. From that point on the rest is history.
"It's certainly a pretty great feeling, for sure," Ryland said. "I'm blessed to have the opportunity to do it in the first place, because a lot of guys coming out of high school (as a kicker) aren't getting scholarships. It's nice to see that the hard work paid off."
"I got to the recruiting party and college football a little late. I knew coming out of high school that there probably wasn't gonna be a scholarship waiting for me. But just the opportunity to play at a high FBS level was the goal, and Eastern gave me the opportunity and I was lucky enough to win the job as a freshman."
Growing up just a short car ride away from "The Sweetest Place on Earth" in Hershey, Pa., Ryland has been lucky enough to be a part of some of pretty "sweet" moments in the football program's history.
In just his second collegiate contest, Ryland's 24-yard field goal as time expired pushed EMU past Purdue University, 20-19, Sept. 8, 2018. Then 371 days later, he added to his legacy with another 24-yarder as the clock turned to zero to best the University of Illinois, 34-31, Sept. 14, 2019.
Through 26 career games, Ryland is 26-for-39 on field goals with three makes from 50-plus yards out, and is 76-for-79 on PATs. Overall, he is tied for fifth all-time in extra points made and attempted at EMU, while he has connected on the seventh-most field goals in program history. Furthermore, with a 52-yarder versus Ball State in 2019, Ryland joined Dylan Mulder (2012-15) as the only players in school history to drill three kicks of 51-or-longer yards.
"He has a maturity about him," added Creighton of his third-year kicker. "His focus, his desire to be better - those are all character qualities that he possesses at a really a high level that we want to be a part of our team. He's had some (kicks) that he wishes he could have back – but that's true for every kicker, punter, quarterback, or player at every position. As a coach, we love his mental makeup, love who he is, and we think he's really, really talented."
As for the scholarship, there was no grand gesture or ceremony to announce it - just a quiet meeting in Coach Creighton's office, which was just what the laid-back Ryland was looking for.
"I'm not into the fireworks thing and jumping out of airplanes," he said, with a smile. "There's a bigger picture for me. Nothing really changes for me with my mental approach. But it's a weight off my shoulders, for sure. I'm thankful for that."
Players Mentioned
PK
/ Football
K
/ FootballEMU Football Pregame Press Conference: Week 5 vs. Central Michigan
Monday, September 22
Louisiana: Cinematic Recap
Monday, September 22
⏳ The wait is almost over ⏳
Sunday, September 21
Football Downs Louisiana, 34-31, on Homecoming
Saturday, September 20