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Akeel Lynch: Will he run to Iowa City?
Will Penn State recruit leave for Iowa at last minute?
(UPDATE: Our friends at HawkeyeReport.com have this update on Lynch, with him saying he’ll make his decision Sunday and that it’s Penn State or Iowa.)
Unless all reports of Penn State freshman-to-be running back Akeel Lynch considering a transfer to Iowa are bogus, Iowa could be facing quite the delicate little situation should Lynch opt to become a Hawkeye.
On one side, you have Iowa’s desperate need for capable running backs. Wednesday’s dismissal of De’Andre Johnson merely added to that.
On the other, you have the fact that despite the cavalcade of coaches Illinois sent to State College last week, no Big Ten team has plucked a player from Penn State’s roster. In the meantime, USC, LSU, California, Rutgers, North Carolina State and Florida State have all done so.
Akeel Lynch: He seems friendly enough
So, that bridge hasn’t been crossed, and the first Big Ten program to poach from Penn State is probably in for a public-relations hit.
(An e-mailer correctly reminded me Michigan took PSU 2013 commit Ross Douglas shortly after the NCAA’s penalties were imposed on Penn State. I appreciated that. Readers are often the best sources, and it’s not just pandering to say that.)
On top of that, Penn State Coach Bill O’Brien was the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots for the last two years when Iowa offensive line coach Brian Ferentz was New England’s tight ends coach. So if those two were chummy, that means Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has fondness and appreciation for O’Brien.
But Iowa needs running backs, and Lynch may be as good as any the Hawkeyes have coming to camp Friday.
Lynch is a Toronto native who prepped in Buffalo, N.Y. He originally gave a verbal commitment to Boston College last July, but opted out in January. He visited Iowa that month, and had the school in his final four choices with Penn State, Oklahoma and Mississippi. That was all after he was named the New York State Gatorade Player of the Year.
As a senior he had 213 carries for 2,131 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also ran the 100-yard dash in 10.6 seconds. This isn’t a backup defensive back. This is a running back who can shed tacklers and go, as the following video illustrates. The first carry is a doozy, by the way.
So, for all the tap-dancing and tip-toeing that would come from helping thin the roster of a Big Ten brother — the Nittany Lions have already lost proven-commodity running back Silas Redd to USC — we could find what takes precedence if Lynch says he wants to come to Iowa.
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How much of a PR hit would it be in this case, considering Bill O’Brien’s outspoken appreciation for Ferentz’s handling of the situation and the fact that this was someone that Iowa was heavily recruiting and was in his top 4 just a few months ago. Of all the poaching charges being thrown around, this would seem to very easily defended. In my mind, totally worth it, even if there is some brief backlash.
Of course.
Nothing the Captain does is beyond reproach.
Everybody else, reprehensible!
Now, you’re clicking on all cylinders, Jay! Yay, Jay!!!
Dustin, you may have answered your own question. I don’t think it would be earth-shaking by any stretch. Brief backlash is right. It would be “Iowa Takes Running Back from Running Back-Depleted Big Ten Brother.” A one-day story nationally — and it would get a small amount of national play — then it vanishes.
No PR hit at all, the recruit called Iowa not vice versa. No player can be expected to play 4 seasons without a post season possibility no matter how much uppper classmen are strong arming the younger players to stand pat. Penn State upperclassmen should be only speaking for themselves and not imposing judgement on players who have just arrived on campus. Iowa is doing nothing wrong, in fact this is part of the punishment that is to change Penn State culture. Wishing players luck that leave is something that should be part of Penn States policy.
Akeel should go to school where he wants to go to school, and if he doesn’t feel good about PSU any longer, he should go somewhere else. He’s not an indentured servant, though he was until the NCAA released him from his obligation to PSU. If some columnist wanted to make a big deal out of Akeel’s not attending PSU, I suppose he could do the outrage thing and ultimately ask Ferentz, How could you poach one of BOB’s players? And Ferentz could say, “I didn’t. He wanted to come to college here. Next queston.”
I do worry about how PSU fans will treat him if he plays for Iowa. There is a collective values vacuum that is stunning operating there. A person’s jaw might drop if he spends 10 minutes reading their comments on their fan site, blackshoediaries.com. They are … PENN STATE. It remains a cult.
Sue-Don:
We get it. Really, we do. Maybe you could try refraining from turning every thread you post on into yet another opportunity to condemn the Penn State fans because a loud, idiotic segment isn’t reacting the way you believe they should. Get off your high horse already.
Max, I’ll probably run out of things to say about PSU when you no longer miss the irony in advising someone else (who’s on a ‘high horse’!) how to behave. In the interim, I suggest we ignore each other. There’s enough bickering on the internet.
Enjoy life in loser valley lynch….you could’a been a contender