At first glance, University of Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch looks like he should probably be playing basketball, there are simply not many 6-foot-7, 230-pound quarterbacks in college football.
Well before he started rewriting the Tiger football record books, Lynch said basketball never stuck with him from a young age. However, he did pick up an interest in baseball, and remembers the days when he played football in the morning, and got ready for baseball in the afternoon. But by the time he reached high school Lynch realized football was the sport he truly loved.
His freshman year of high school was also the end of another era for Lynch. He had to switch positions from his favorite position of running back to quarterback, because he became too tall to play the position.
“As a kid growing up I always played running back,” Lynch said. “I loved play running back. So whenever I get to the chance to run with it takes me back to my Pop Warner days.”
Regardless, the switch to quarterback proved to be a smart choice for Lynch as he would star at Trinity Christian Academy High School in Deltona, Florida. He led his team to a 10-3 record in his junior year, and was named MVP of the Central Florida All-Star Game in 2011.
Despite his strong play, schools were not going out of their way to woo Lynch. One reason was due to him being injured for part of his senior season (he suffered a bruised knee in spring practice). That’s why he said it meant so much to him when Memphis started recruiting him.
“When I first came here on my visit, a lot of the coaches to me were more family-orientated than any of the other coaches (at other schools),” Lynch said. “I remember coach Dickey (assistant head coach) came to my house and talked to me. He did what none of the other coaches had done. He was there to talk to us and it wasn’t all about football. It was like he was a friend. And I came here and all the coaches were like that and also they were the first team to believe in me and offer me. No other school offered me but them so it kind of hit home.”
Despite Lynch not coming from a large high school, Memphis football coach Justin Fuente said they saw a kid with talent.
“We felt like he was a player with really good size and length,” Fuente said. “But he was also a good athlete, and we’ve been fortunate that Paxton (Lynch) has the work ethic he’s got to continue—to improve.”
In 2012, Lynch joined the Memphis Tigers football team and redshirted his freshman year. But besides football, he needed to adjust to life on campus, which means setting his own alarm.
“Making myself wake up and go to class was the hardest thing for me,” Lynch said. “In high school, my mom used to come in there and wake me up for school. Sometimes it’s hard not rolling over and not smacking the snooze button.”
Like most college athletes, Lynch admits he did not want to be redshirted his freshman year, but said in the end it benefitted him.
“I wanted to play but, when I got to college, I realized there’s a lot more than just going out on the field and playing,” Lynch said. “You got to know the whole offense in-and-out like the back of your hand. That’s especially important to coach Fuente. So I’m glad I got that year under my belt.”
At the start of the 2013 season, Lynch would get his chance to show what he learned as a redshirt freshman as he was named the starting quarterback. He replaced popular senior quarterback Jacob Karam, who’s well respected in the Memphis community for his volunteer work with St. Jude Research Hospital.
Success wouldn’t come right away for Lynch as he and the Tigers struggled mightily. He threw for more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (9), and only completed 58 percent of his passes. As a result, the Tigers continued to lose football games, and finished 3-9 in 2013.
He became the subject of much criticism, but he said he never let it get to him.
“Even in high school whenever I wasn’t really recruited I knew that people were going to think that I was not that good,” Lynch said. “But you just have to kind of shake that stuff off being an athlete.”
He said he knew he could play much better than he had in 2013.
“I feel like coach Fuente always believed in me and he still does,” Lynch said. “Whenever I have a bad game he’s not scared. If I’m throwing interceptions he’s not scared to keep putting me out there, and to throw the ball. He’s got my back no matter what. I knew I was better than (my freshman season) and everyone knew it too.”
Fuente said as long Lynch worked hard the team would always keep the faith in him.
“He’s got to understand, as long as he does the work in a way we demand, we’re going to have his back,” Fuente said. “He wants to get better. And he knows he’s not a finished product.”
Coach Fuente and Memphis’ faith in Lynch would be rewarded and then some in the 2014 season. He grew leaps and bounds in his sophomore season and became only the third Memphis quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a single season. Lynch threw more than two-times as many touchdowns as he did in his freshman year (22). Lynch also rediscovered his running back roots, as he ran for another 13 touchdowns. But most importantly he kept his turnovers to a minimum—only throwing nine interceptions.
With Lynch’s great season, a solid running game and a top-15 defense—the Memphis Tigers 2014 season was arguably the greatest in school history. The Tigers finished 10-3 and won a tri-share of the American Athletic Conference Championship, their first conference championship since 1971. They won their first bowl game since 2005 when they defeated the BYU Cougars in a wild, shootout 55-48 in the Miami Beach Bowl on Dec. 22.
Like he had all season, Lynch starred in the Miami Beach Bowl as he had seven total touchdowns (three rushing and four passing). He was the first FBS quarterback since former Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd in 2012 to rush for three touchdowns and pass for four in the same game.
Lynch said it was the craziest game he’s ever been a part of.
“That was just a ridiculous game in and out,” Lynch said. “I’ve never played in a game that crazy. And we won it! So, that was something I’ll definitely never forget. “
He said he knew they had a chance to do something special.
“It’s definitely a great feeling,” Lynch said. “Because I knew that when we got here we had a chance to do something like that. And then we came out here and we won 10 games and sent the seniors off right. So that was the biggest thing for me. I also learned that we can all win together. Now I have confidence in all of them and they have confidence in me.”
National recognition was always going to come for Lynch. Sporting News named him the no. 25 quarterback in their top-25 college quarterbacks list for 2015.
“I didn’t even know about it until someone told me about it,” Lynch said. “It’s a cool thing, but I know that if we keep winning that everyone will get recognized so that’s all that matters to me.”
However, quarterbacks are always looking to improve and now that spring practice is underway, Lynch is already working to improve even more in 2015.
“I probably (need to improve) my throwing accuracy and clean up my mechanics,” Lynch said. “I know coach Cornelsen (co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach) helps me out a lot with that, so we’re just trying to get to work on that and get better at that during the spring.”
With being a starting quarterback comes the responsibility of being a team leader, and Lynch has not shied away from it.
“I feel like it’s very important (being a leader) as a quarterback you take all the criticism whether you win or lose,” Lynch said. “You know you’ve got to be the guy who’s out there when things are tough, they’re looking at you whenever things are hard and you’ve got to switch it to get it going good again.”
Fuente said Lynch will be counted even more next season, because of the loss of so many seniors from last year’s team.
“Well it’s going to be hugely important for us,” Fuente said. “We don’t have some of those other guys we’ve had in the past to lean on. It’s going to be guys like Paxton (Lynch) and (tight end) Alan Cross that we’ll have to lean on, so he’ll have to shoulder that burden and handle it well.”
After he wraps up his Tigers’ career, Lynch’s dream is to make it to the NFL, and said he hasn’t even thought about doing anything else post-football career yet.
“I definitely want to play at the professional level,” Lynch said. “It’s something I work for everyday. After football I’m not sure I haven’t even thought about it to be honest. I’ll probably figure it out down the career when I’m in the league, and they’re talking about me in the hall of fame or something like that then maybe I’ll figure out something. Maybe I’ll play some golf.”
Miami Beach Bowl Executive Director Carlos Padilla congratulating Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch on being named the game’s Most Valuable Player in the Miami Beach Bowl. Lynch had seven total touchdowns in the victory. Photo by Ben Solomon.
