Blue White Illustrated

U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L BY TIM OWEN Blue White Contributor many of his school's top athletes head north to the junior hockey leagues of Canada. Their goal: to one day make it to the NHL. But two years ago, six Canadian D football players left their home country to enroll at St. Francis, hop- ing to find a spot on Smith's loaded roster. Their goal: to one day earn a scholarship and play football for an American university. "This was the first time that we had anybody from Canada coming down," Smith said. "We've had play- ers go up to Canada for hockey, but this is the first time Canada recipro- cated." And the reciprocation worked out well for Smith and his Red Raiders. One of those Canada natives was Akeel Lynch, a running back who went on to set the St. Francis rush- ing record with 2,136 yards his sen- ior season. He also was named New York State Gatorade Player of the Year in 2011 and garnered more than 10 Division I scholarship offers. And before his time at St. Francis expired, he signed a national letter of intent to play football for Penn State. "It worked out well for the whole program, the whole school and all the kids [Lynch] came in contact with," Smith said. "He really is a very, very nice person. He's in- telligent, he's smart. He's just one of those kids who any parent would love to say that he is their son." But his path to Happy Valley was- n't straightforward. Last July, Lynch gave Boston College a verbal commitment. The Eagles seemed to Photo courtesy of St. Francis HS offer it all: proximity to his home, top-rated academics and a vetted re- lationship with the coaching staff. But as fall turned into winter, Boston College's program spiraled to a 3-8 record. So Lynch began field- ing other offers, including ones from Buffalo, Cincinnati, Duke, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, Syracuse and even Oklahoma. But the school that recruited Lynch most tenaciously was Penn W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M State, and the interest was mutual. In January, he informed the Boston College coaches he no longer was planning to attend their school. Five days later, Lynch announced plans to become a Nittany Lion. The decision to switch his commit- ment was difficult, but Lynch ex- pects to learn from it. "To tell them, 'Hey, I'm not going to your school anymore,' was tough, but… you have to do what's right for PSU needed a running back with the potential to make an immediate impact. Enter Canadian expat Akeel Lynch THE LYNCH FILE COLD COMFORT uring his 30-year tenure at St. Francis High in Athol Springs, N.Y., coach Jerry Smith has seen S T A T I S T I C S Rushed for 2,136 yards and scored 25 touchdowns his senior season at St. Francis High. ... Averaged 9.5 yards per carry. ... Scored six touchdowns in one game against St. Aquinas High. H O N O R S Named New York State Gatorade Player of the Year. ... First-team All- Western New York. ... Runner up for Buffalo News Player of the Year award. you," he said. "There are some things you just have to do. I didn't want to [tell Boston College] through text or through my coach; I wanted to tell them personally because I felt like that is something you have to go through. Sometimes you have to disappoint some people in order for you to make the right decision for yourself and your family." There was one factor that weighed heavily on Lynch's mind as he wres- tled with his decision about which school to attend: the prospect of early playing time at Penn State. Heading into the 2012 season, the Nittany Lions have only two scholar- ship running backs on the depth chart. So when the 6-foot, 205- pound Lynch arrives at University Park in the summer, he should be the team's No. 3 running back by default. "That's all I needed – that opportu- nity," he said. "I just have to make that dream become reality. I just have to keep working, just be pa- tient. Because with college football, there is always someone trying to take your spot, and you're always trying to take someone else's spot. So you always have to be on your toes." Lynch rushed for 2,136 yards dur- ing his senior season, averaging 9.5 yards per carry and scoring 25 touchdowns, including six in one game. His best statistical game of the year came against St. Aquinas of Rochester, N.Y., a team that fea- tured Jarron Jones, who had verbal- ly committed to Penn State before changing his mind and signing a national letter of intent with Notre Dame on Feb. 1. Before being pulled from the game due to a sprained an- kle, Lynch tallied 239 yards in the first two quarters. M A R C H 2 , 2 0 1 2 23

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