James Lynch (American football)
_(cropped).jpg) Lynch with the Vikings in 2022 | |||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | January 20, 1999 Round Rock, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 295 lb (134 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Round Rock | ||||||
| College: | Baylor (2017–2019) | ||||||
| Position: | Nose tackle | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2020 / Round: 4 / Pick: 130 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| |||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
James Husker Lynch (born January 20, 1999) is an American football nose tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Baylor.
Early years[edit]
Lynch grew up in Round Rock, Texas and attended Round Rock High School, playing defensive line and punter on the school's football team. He was named the District 13-6A lineman of the year in each of his final two high school seasons. As a senior, Lynch recorded 46 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 3 fumbles recoveries and a forced fumble and punted 27 times for an average of 43.7 yards.[1] He initially committed to play college football at Texas Christian before switching his commitment to USC. Lynch de-committed again during his senior year before deciding to play at Baylor.[2]
College career[edit]
Lynch played in 11 games during his true freshman season as a member of the Bears' defensive tackle rotation and was named a Freshman All-American by ESPN after making 20 tackles (five for loss), three sacks (most among Big 12 Conference freshmen) and a fumble recovery.[3][4] As a sophomore, he led the team with 5.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss and was named first-team All-Big 12 by the Associated Press and to the second-team by the league's coaches.[5]
Lynch was named preseason first-team All-Big 12 and to the Chuck Bednarik Award watchlist entering his junior season.[6] Lynch was named first-team All-Big 12, the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, the conference Defensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous All-America selection after finishing the regular season with 41 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and a conference-high 13.5 sacks along with three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, five passes defended and two blocked kicks.[7][8][9] Lynch announced that he would forgo his senior season to enter the 2020 NFL Draft.[10]
Professional career[edit]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+5⁄8 in (1.92 m) |
289 lb (131 kg) |
31+7⁄8 in (0.81 m) |
9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) |
5.01 s | 1.73 s | 2.92 s | 4.39 s | 7.39 s | 29.0 in (0.74 m) |
9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) |
23 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[11][12] | ||||||||||||
Lynch was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 130th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.[13] He made his NFL debut on October 11, 2020, against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football and recorded his first career sack on Russell Wilson during the 27–26 loss.[14]
On August 4, 2023, it was announced that Lynch had suffered a torn ACL in practice and would miss the entirety of the 2023 season.[15] He was placed on injured reserve two days later.[16]
Personal[edit]
Lynch's father, Tim, played linebacker for the University of Nebraska and gave him the middle name "Husker" after the school's mascot.[17]
References[edit]
- ^ Jeyarajah, Shehan (October 10, 2017). "Baylor might use 285-pound defensive tackle at punter". Springfield News-Sun. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Trevino, Chris (December 10, 2016). "3-star DT Lynch decommits from USC". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Baylor defensive tackle James Lynch named ESPN Freshman All-American". WacoTrib.com. December 11, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Werner, John (September 13, 2018). "Lynch thriving on Baylor defensive line". WacoTrib.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Kaut, Kendall (December 7, 2018). "James Lynch and Drew Galitz Named A.P. First Team All-Big 12". OurDailyBears.com. SB Nation. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Baylor's Lynch, Johnston named to Big 12 preseason team". KXXV.com. July 9, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "OK State's Chuba Hubbard, Baylor's James Lynch named Big 12's top players". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Tavares, Chris (December 4, 2019). "Texas lands two on All-Big 12 first team, Lynch earns multiple honors". KXAN.com. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Kosko, Nick (January 13, 2020). "Baylor defensive end James Lynch declares for NFL Draft". 247Sports.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Khan Jr., Sam (January 13, 2020). "Baylor star lineman James Lynch declares for draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ "James Lynch Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout James Lynch College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
- ^ Seats, Alex (April 25, 2020). "Minnesota Vikings draft James Lynch". 247 Sports. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ Craig, Mark (October 12, 2020). "Five extra points: Maybe Russell Wilson has made his last red zone mistake". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ "Source: Vikings DL James Lynch tears ACL, likely out for '23". espn.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ "Vikings Sign Receiver N'Keal Harry; Place James Lynch on IR". Vikings.com. August 6, 2023.
- ^ Cantu, Rick (November 21, 2016). "Faces Off the Field: James Lynch, senior defensive tackle, Round Rock". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved December 5, 2019.