COURTESY PHOTO
Jon Loyte, No. 89, is pictured playing for Boston College.
By KATIE MORRISON
For some Boston College fans and alumni, their rooting interests might be split this Sunday as the Patriots take on the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. Few opposing players hold such a high standing in New England than Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who guided the Eagles to a 25-7 record, three bowl victories and an Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division title in his three years starting at BC.
But for Swampscott police officer Jon Loyte, the choice is easy. He’ll be pulling for his former teammate.
Loyte, a St. John’s Prep graduate, played alongside Ryan for two seasons at Boston College, and says that even though he’s a lifelong Patriots fan, his rooting interests side with his former teammate.
“It’s pretty cool, it’s a win-win situation,” Loyte said. “I’m a lifelong Patriots fan, but playing with Matt and having that experience, I’m rooting for him every game, so personally, I’ll be rooting for Matt Sunday.
“(Ryan) really put BC on the map in recent years to keep the legacy going,” Loyte added. “I’m always going to root for him, but … if the Patriots win, that won’t be too bad. It’s a great matchup.”
Loyte, who was born in Salem and grew up in Gloucester, was a standout tight end and defensive end for St. John’s Prep. His senior year at the Prep, he was a member of the 2002 team that went to the Division 1 Super Bowl before falling to Everett.
Loyte began his collegiate career at Vanderbilt University, spending his freshman and sophomore years with the Commodores. In 2005, Loyte made the choice to transfer to Boston College for personal reasons.
“My grandfather got sick, and my family couldn’t come out to see me play in Tennessee,” Loyte said. “I grew up loving BC, I wanted to go there, but I had a great recruiting trip at Vanderbilt. I wanted to see a different part of the country.”
But Loyte says that coming back to play at BC was a good decision. After he was redshirted in 2005, Loyte pulled in six catches for 42 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games for the Eagles in 2006 as BC went 10-3. In 2007, Loyte had a bigger impact, logging 135 yards on 13 catches and a touchdown. That touchdown came in Loyte’s final collegiate game in the Champs Sports Bowl against Michigan State and got the Eagles on the board. The pass came from none other than Ryan, who set the single-season Boston College record for touchdowns with 31 that season, surpassing Doug Flutie.
Loyte said that memory is pretty cool, but the season as a whole was full of great memories.
“We were one of the best teams in BC history,” Loyte said of the 2007 squad that went 11-3 and fell in the ACC championship to Virginia Tech. “At Vanderbilt, we had a couple of tough years, going 2-9 and 2-10. But at BC, we went to bowl games and had a lot of players from that team keep playing from there. That year (2007) was a great year, we were ranked No. 2 in the country at one point.”
Loyte said that to see a former teammate put together an MVP-caliber season and play on the biggest stages has been “awesome.”
“I really hope he gets it (the MVP award). He deserves it,” Loyte said. “It’s been his year. The microscope is on him, because other teammates played in the NFL, but he’s been the most successful. I’m always rooting for him.”
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Loyte said that he doesn’t regularly keep in touch with Ryan anymore, but will see him if he’s in the area. Most recently, that was when Ryan’s number 12 was retired by the Eagles back in November. A lot of former teammates came back to the city to tailgate with Ryan.
“Everybody (on the team) was close friends, you’re with each other every day, so you get close,” Loyte said. “I’ve seen (Ryan) when he’s come back to school for games, but I don’t talk to him much.”
After college, Loyte attended NFL mini camps for Tampa Bay, Buffalo and the New York Giants, and played a season in the Arena Football League. Now, the 32-year-old is a Swampscott police officer.
As for his prediction for Sunday? Well, even though his rooting interests are with Ryan, he acknowledged it might be an uphill climb for Matty Ice and the Falcons.
“Both offenses are good. I think the Patriots have a great shot and the Falcons are definitely the underdogs,” Loyte said. “But the Falcons offense has been humming, and they have amazing players at every skill position, so anything can happen.”