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Baylor Football

It's time for Lynch to start his candidacy for the Hornung Award

November 2, 2017
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It's true. Blake Lynch is extremely versatile on the football field, showing he can play offense at a high level in 2016 and then turning to make a quick transition to the defensive side of the ball in 2017 showing more success.

Is there another player in the country with at least 36 career receptions, 455 yards receiving and three touchdowns, 13 rushes for 79 yards on offense, and 18 tackles and six passes defended on defense?

The numbers aren't staggering to look at in any specific way for the third-year sophomore, but it's plenty impressive considering in eight career games Lynch was locked in as a receiver, three games he was asked to play running back, and in his eight most recent games he's played primarily on defense.

PAUL HORNUNG AWARD

The mission of the Paul Hornung Award is to recognize and reward versatile, high-level performers in major college football (Football Bowl Subdivision team member); to help preserve the legacy of one of Louisville’s native sons and sports icons; and to promote Louisville as a great sports town.

That's where we reflect on Matt Rhule's recent comment that if Lynch is needed on offense, he will play on offense.

Needless to say, with the bodies at cornerback much deeper, it looks like he will be needed beginning in the immediate future and possibly through the remainder of the season.

Baylor is heading into their ninth game of the 2017 season without the services of receivers Chris Platt (knee), Pooh Stricklin (foot), RJ Sneed (leg) and Tony Nicholson (ankle), leaving the Bears with scholarship receivers Denzel Mims, Jared Atkinson and Gavin Holmes for their road trip to Lawrence, Kansas this weekend.

The trend of Lynch on offense again began last Saturday as the sophomore caught two passes for 51 yards against Texas and gave the Bears their biggest play of the game on a 52-yard reception where he narrowly missed a touchdown after making a one-hand grab. His second reception, a screen pass in the flats, could have gone for much more if not for a sorely missed block.

He's seen a variety of snaps on offense in previous games, but Saturday was the first time to get his explosiveness into even a small rhythm.

At Big 12 Media Days prior to the start of fall camp, Rhule described Lynch's ability to do anything the staff asked of him.

"I think Blake is one of the special players on the team and in the conference. He got hurt in the spring — not really hurt, but he had an old injury that we had to get fixed so, you know, he’s kind of coming back slowly, but he’s a versatile guy. He’s a guy that can probably play linebacker for us, play d-end for us, play tailback for us, play quarterback, play receiver and he’s also a loyal kid. I think we’ll do a really good job — I hope we’ll do a really good job of making sure we feature him and put him in a position to be really, really successful and I’m anxious to get him healthy."

In 2016, Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers won the Hornung Award. The junior totaled 66 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, and an interception on defense, rushed 27 times for 163 yards and three touchdowns, and returned 21 punts for 210 yards and one score. He was eventually selected in the first round of 2017 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns following his junior season.

Lynch currently sits at two receptions for 51 yards, 18 tackles and six passes defended on the season, and while he has been placed on kickoff returns at times, has yet to return one of his own. If the risk is worth it, Lynch could be placed on special teams this season as well.

But for now, this isn't really about Lynch going out and winning the award in 2017. It's not even really about Lynch winning any individual award. It's about a selfless player doing whatever it takes to help his team.

If the recognition for the individual award comes in 2018, great, but as Rhule said, this is about using a player that has the ability to be used all over the field to help win football games. Now is the time to do it.

Discussion from...

It's time for Lynch to start his candidacy for the Hornung Award

4,719 Views | 3 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by Sip 'em Beers
Pale Rider
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We need about ten other "Blake Lynches."
pv66
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I would be interested to know how many snaps he has had out of total snaps available. Doesn't seem like he has gotten a large number. Maybe hurt or sick some?
Sip 'em Beers
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Pretty laughable to compare Blake Lynch's candidacy to Jabirl Peppers. Im a big fan of Blake Lynch but he hasn't really stood out and plays on a D that gets lit up every week.
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