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Jul 31, 2010

Aaron Lynch's Irish Quartet

At a Saturday morning press conference, star defensive end Aaron Lynch picked Notre Dame and extended a remarkable recruiting sequence with four public commitments in under 24 hours. The previous three are great pickups, but Lynch is the gem of not just the weekend but the year to date.

His junior tape from Preps Report is the best film—not to mention the most entertaining—of any of his fellow ND verbals. The seven minutes are repetitive for all the right reasons: 6-6, 266 Lynch is too big, fast, and strong for any takers in the Ft. Myers area. To compliment his physical gifts, Lynch shows skill in breaking up passes. For Lynch, the tendency to go for deflections is a double-edged sword at times when QBs use a pump fake, although at the 1:07 mark he recovered for the sack anyway.

Impressive against the run, Lynch has sufficient lateral speed to contain a back in the flat and force him to the sideline. He doesn’t take himself out of plays and he’s a consistent terror on every down. Lynch sometimes rushes as stand-up blitzer, so he’ll need to get comfortable playing each snap in a down position. He’s agile enough to develop DE moves and he can chase down skill guys from the line of scrimmage. He can refine these traits and gain muscle mass, but unlike most freshmen on the line, it won't happen during a redshirt year. Lynch looks physically ready to get a little PT for the Irish in 2010 let alone 2011.

While nose guard Louis Nix is comparable in terms of prototypical fit for the scheme, no ND defensive lineman matches Lynch’s upside. His sack numbers as a freshman in 2011 will be similar to Ethan Johnson’s ’08 pace. While Lynch isn’t the first defender in ND’s 2011 group who garnered offers from the SEC’s best teams, he’s probably the first of the caliber who would actually beast at those schools. Lynch is a perfect 3-4 DE and the cornerstone of Kelly’s recruiting class. Soon enough, he’ll also be the centerpiece of Diaco’s defense and maybe, just maybe, Notre Dame’s next national championship.

3 comments:

  1. "We're gonna be beasts when we come in. We're gonna be beasts." - Aaron Lynch

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this kid.

    "I got speed right off the ball, and I got power coming right behind it. So it's gonna be hard for somebody to block me, and I'm going to make it hard for somebody to block me, too."

    http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/recruiting/football/2893-angel-horton-frank

    ReplyDelete
  3. Games are won and lost in the trenches (how many goal line stands did we have in our win against UW?) and I love the moves Kelly is making right now. It will be fun to watch Nix and Lynch line up next to each other in blue and gold.

    ReplyDelete

2012 Notre Dame Football Schedule

2012 Notre Dame Football Schedule
Overall
12-1
Home
6-0
Away
4-0
Neutral
2-1
DateOpponent / EventLocationTime / Result
09/01/12vs. Navy Dublin, IrelandW, 50-10
09/08/12vs. PurdontNotre Dame, Ind.W, 20-17
09/15/12at SpartyEast Lansing, Mich.W, 20-3
09/22/12vs. SkunkbearsNotre Dame, Ind.W, 13-6
Shamrock Series
10/06/12vs. Da UChicago, Ill.W, 41-3
10/13/12vs. TreesNotre Dame, Ind.W, 20-13 (OT)
10/20/12vs. BYU Notre Dame, Ind.W, 17-14
10/27/12at Oklahoma Norman, Okla.W, 30-13
11/03/12vs. Pittsburgh Notre Dame, Ind.W, 29-26 (3OT)
11/10/12at Backup College Chestnut Hill, Mass.W, 21-6
11/17/12vs. Fake Worest Notre Dame, Ind.W, 38-0
11/24/12at U$C Los Angeles, Calif.W, 22-13
1/7/13vs. AlabamaBCS CHAMPIONSHIP
(Miami, Florida)
L, :(