Marshawn Lynch

Marshawn Lynch

Lynch in the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl
Buffalo Bills — No. 23
Running back
Date of Birth: April 22 1986 (1986-04-22) (age 21)
Place of Birth: Oakland, California
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
National Football League Debut
2007 for the Buffalo Bills
Career Highlights and Awards
Rivals second-team Freshman All-American (2004) Las Vegas Bowl MVP (2005) Honorable mention All-Pac-10 (2005) First-team All-American (2006) First-team all-Pac-10 (2006) Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year (2006) Holiday Bowl Co-MVP (2006)
Career History
College: California
NFL Draft: 2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12
Teams: Buffalo Bills (2007-present)
Stats at NFL.com

Marshawn Lynch (born April 22, 1986, in Oakland, California) is an American football running back who currently plays for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bills in the first round (12th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at California where he was one of the school's all-time rushers and holds the school record for most 100 yard rushing efforts at 17.^[1]

Contents 1 Early years 2 College career 2.1 Career Statistics 2.1.1 Rushing 2.1.2 Receiving 2.1.3 Kick Returns 3 NFL career 3.1 2007 NFL Draft 3.2 Buffalo Bills 4 Personal 5 References 6 External links

Early years

Lynch attended Oakland Technical High School. In his 2004 season, Lynch was voted a PrepStar and SuperPrep All-American and was also voted as the San Francisco East Bay Player of the Year in which he amassed 1,722 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns in only 8 regular season games, and an additional 375 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 2 post-season games. In addition to being a star football player, Lynch was also an excellent track sprinter and played on Oakland Tech's basketball team beside former Cal star and current Boston Celtics forward Leon Powe. Marshawn also played defensive back in high school, accumulating 20 interceptions his senior year. His coaches put him at defensive end for one game, and he had 3 forced fumbles. Rivals.com had him ranked #1 in the nation as a D-Back, but he decided to stick to his passion at running back. Lynch ended his high school career as the 2004 No. 2 running back in the nation behind Adrian Peterson by Rivals.com.

College career

Lynch attended University of California, Berkeley playing for the Golden Bears where his major was social welfare. As a true freshman in 2004, Lynch was the primary backup to senior J.J. Arrington. Lynch carried the ball 71 times for 628 yards with 8 rushing touchdowns and an additional 147 yards on 19 receptions and 2 receiving touchdowns. In 2005, Arrington graduated and Lynch became the starting running back. Even though he missed 2 games due to a hand and finger injury, he still amassed 1,246 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns on 196 carries and an additional 125 yards on 15 receptions. In the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl, Lynch ran for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries and was named MVP. In addition to his great running ability, he also has a tight grip on the ball, fumbling just once in his career. Lynch wore jersey No. 24 his freshman year but switched to No. 10, his high school number. This switch placed him in sequence with his cousins Virdell Larkins (No. 9) and Robert Jordan (No. 11), also teammates at Cal.^[2] In the 2006 preseason, Lynch earned a spot on the watchlist for the Maxwell Award, was named 8th best player in the nation by Sports Illustrated and earned several preseason All-American accolades. On July 22, 2006, the Cal football program officially launched the campaign for Lynch to win the 2006 Heisman Trophy with the opening of the website Marshawn10.com featuring Lynch's highlights from the 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons. [1]. Lynch was named to the 2006 All Pac-10 team First Team^[3]. Lynch not only earned various awards, he also scored the game-winning overtime touchdown against Washington, which he said was his favorite career highlight. After which Lynch spontenously drove around the football field in an injury cart, pretending to ghost ride (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqMsT_2teus&mode=related&search=). Lynch was also named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 and a AFCA (Coaches') All-America in 2006 In his final game for California, Lynch ran for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns against Texas A&M in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on December 28, 2006. He shared the Co-Offensive Player of the Game award with teammate, quarterback Nate Longshore. On January 2, 2007, Lynch announced he would forgo his senior season and entered the NFL draft.^[4]

Career Statistics

Statistics up to date as of December 28 2006. College statistics from CalBears.com^[5][6] and ESPN.com^[7].

Rushing

Year	Team	Games-Games Started	Carries	Yards	Average	Long	TDs
2004	Cal	12-0	71	628	8.8	70	8
2005	Cal	10-9	196	1,246	6.4	52	10
2006	Cal	13-11	223	1,356	6.1	71	11
Totals		35-20	490	3,230	6.6	71	29

Receiving

Year	Team	Games-Games Started	Receptions	Yards	Average	Long	TDs
2004	Cal	12-0	19	147	7.7	29	2
2005	Cal	10-9	15	125	8.3	25	0
2006	Cal	13-11	34	328	9.6	28	4
Totals		35-20	68	600	8.8	29	6

Kick Returns

Year	Team	Games-Games Started	Returns	Yards	Average	Long	TDs
2004	Cal	12-0	15	372	24.8	69	0
2005	Cal	10-9	13	271	20.8	34	0
2006	Cal	13-11	5	101	20.2	27	0
Totals		35-20	33	744	22.5	69	0

NFL career

2007 NFL Draft

On April 28, 2007, Lynch was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

Pre-draft measureables
Wt	40y	20ss	3-cone	Vert	BP	Wonderlic
215 lb*	4.45s*	4.58s*	7.09s*	35.5 in*	20*[8]	X

(* represents NFL Combine)

Buffalo Bills

Lynch entered the 2007 season as the starter at running back for the Buffalo Bills. On September 9, 2007, he was the Bills' starting running back in the first game of the regular season. Although the Bills lost the game to the Broncos, 15-14, Lynch gained 90 yards on 19 carries for 4.7 yards per carry average. He also scored a touchdown and caught two passes for 9 yards. His breakout game came November 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Lynch's success on the ground was instrumental in keeping the touted Cincinnati offense on the sidelines, as he rushed 29 times for 153 yards, including a 56 yard touchdown run. Lynch also completed a touchdown pass to tight end Robert Royal, the first touchdown pass completed by a Bills running back in 26 years. Lynch was instrumental in the Bills' victory over the Miami Dolphins the following week, scoring a touchdown and the following 2 point conversion. However he injured his ankle and missed the next three games. He returned to play on December 9 for the Bills' second season game against the Dolphins, rushing for 107 yards and making his first career fumble. The game also marked the first time that the Bills' offense produced two 100-yard rushers since 1996, as Fred Jackson also rushed for 115 yards.^[9] Lynch went over the 1,000 yard rushing mark on December 23 against the New York Giants, scoring a touchdown in the 38-21 loss which resulted in the Giants clinching a playoff berth. This made him the fourth Bills rookie to break the 1,000 mark, and the first since Greg Bell in 1984.^[10]

Personal

On June 14, 2006, Lynch was the victim of mistaken identity when unknown assailants shot at his car outside his alma mater, Oakland Technical High School, as he was about to visit his little sister on her graduation day. He was not the intended target of the shooting, and no one was injured. The shooter phoned Lynch's mother to apologize.^[11] Lynch's cousin, Robert Jordan, also plays for California, and another cousin, Josh Johnson, plays quarterback for the University of San Diego. On January 25, 2007, Lynch was accused of sexual assault by his former girlfriend. The incident reportedly happened on December 13, 2006, outside the woman's home in Emeryville, California. On January 29, 2007, an Alameda County Deputy District Attorney who specializes in domestic violence cases declined to press charges, citing a lack of evidence and "grave inconsistencies" in the alleged victim's accusations.^[12] Lynch was never arrested or charged. On March 3, 2007, an Alameda County judge threw out a restraining order that Lynch's ex-girlfriend had issued against him because it was obtained improperly.^[13] Lynch has embraced the Buffalo community, in stark contrast to former Bills RB Willis McGahee, as noted by an interview with ESPN's Kenny Mayne.[2] In the video interview, which has become an internet sensation, Lynch talks about his love of Applebees, and his teammates joke that he loves chain restaurants. In the video, teammate Robert Royal states that "Marshawn has been a fresh of breath air."

References

External links

• Unofficial Fan site for Marshawn Lynch
• Marshawn10.com: Cal's Website for Marshawn Lynch
• Official Cal Bears Homepage
• ESPN.com Player Card
• Marshawn Lynch News and Video at SportsUltra
• Sports Highlight Videos of Marshawn Lynch on mReplay

•  • e Buffalo Bills first-round draft picks

Dennis • Pitts • Moses • Simpson • Cowlings • Hill • Patulski • Seymour • DeLamielleure • Gant • Ruud • Clark • Dokes • Miller • Cousineau • Butler • Ritcher • Moore • Tuttle • Hunter • Kelly • Bell • B. Smith • Burroughs • Harmon • Conlan • J. Williams • Jones • Fina • T. Smith • Burris • Brown • Moulds • A. Smith • Winfield • Flowers • Clements • M. Williams • McGahee • Evans • Losman • Whitner • McCargo • Lynch

•  • e 2007 NFL Draft - First Round
Russell • Johnson • Thomas • Adams • Brown • Landry • Peterson • Anderson • Ginn • Okoye • Willis • Lynch • Carriker • Revis • Timmons • Harrell • Moss • Hall • Griffin • Ross • Nelson • Quinn • Bowe • Meriweather • Beason • Spencer • Meachem • Staley • Grubbs • Davis • Olsen • Gonzalez