Akeel Joh-Vonnie Lynch (born May 14, 1994) is a retired
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
who last played for the
Nevada Wolf Pack football team. He grew up in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario, Canada with divorced parents, but at age seven, his father was murdered. Later, he moved to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, where he played high school football and eventually accepted a scholarship offer to play football at
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
. After
redshirting his freshman year, he emerged as a reserve player the next season, and by his sophomore year of eligibility, he had emerged as Penn State's top running back.
Early life
Lynch grew up in Toronto, where, early in his life, his divorced
Jamaican parents – Dona McKoy and Howard Lynch – shared
joint custody
Joint custody is a form of child custody pursuant to which custody rights are awarded to both parents. Joint custody may refer to ''joint physical custody'', ''joint legal custody'', or both combined.
In joint legal custody, both parents of a c ...
of him. However, when Akeel Lynch was seven years old, Howard was murdered, which sent Akeel into mental health problems. In Toronto, Lynch attended
St. Michael's College School
St. Michael's College School, (also known as St. Michael's, St. Mike's, and SMCS), is an independent, Catholic school for young men in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Basilian Fathers, it is the largest school of its kind in Canada ...
, but when he realized he had the talent to play college football, he also realized the necessity of playing in America, and at age 16, he moved to
Athol Springs, New York
Athol Springs is a hamlet in the town of Hamburg in Erie County, New York, United States.
Notable people
The family of feminist activist Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn owned property in Athol Springs.
Athol Springs is the birthplace of retire ...
to attend
St. Francis High School. Cognizant of his family's uncertain financial situation and that he might not be able to attend college without a scholarship, he understood the necessity in working hard to learn
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, and its juxtaposition to
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...
.
Eventually, he became "comfortable with his surroundings", and began to flourish in high school football, winning the New York
Gatorade Player of the Year
The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine playe ...
award.
He received several scholarship offers, and settled on playing at
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
after they hired
Bill O'Brien.
College career
Penn State
Turning down offers from
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
and
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, Lynch accepted a scholarship offer to attend Penn State under the newly installed Bill O'Brien regime, which succeeded the
Joe Paterno era after the
Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal
The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years ...
.
He
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
his first season, and participated on the
scout team
The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''.
0–9
...
while bulking up from 205 to .
The next season, "he was stellar in spring practice, showing size, speed and scoring ability in the team's spring Blue-White game."
Consequently, he earned some playing time early in the season, and in Penn State's game against
Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...
, he rushed for 108 yards, while the next week against
Kent State
Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...
, he compiled 123 rushing yards. Overall, Lynch rushed for 358 yards on 60 carries with one touchdown during his redshirt freshman season.
Similar to his freshman season, Lynch opened his sophomore year in 2014 stuck behind
Bill Belton
William Earl Belton II (born February 2, 1993) is a former American football running back for Penn State Nittany Lions. He was an all-state quarterback at Winslow Township High School.
Early years
Belton was born in 1993 in Sicklerville, New Jer ...
and
Zach Zwinak
Zachary Thomas "Zach" Zwinak is an American football running back who played for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2010 to 2014. After playing sparingly in his first two seasons, he had a breakout year in 2012.
Early years
The son of B.J. Zwinak ...
on Penn State's depth chart at running back.
With four new offensive linemen and a general lack of offensive continuity due in part to a new coordinator, Penn State's rushing attack struggled for much of the
2014 season. However, Lynch found success taking direct snaps in the
wildcat formation
Wildcat formation describes a formation for the offense in football in which the ball is snapped not to the quarterback but directly to a player of another position lined up at the quarterback position. (In most systems, this is a running back, b ...
, and ultimately emerged as the team's best running back, but still did not start for most of the season.
Patiently awaiting "his time to shine", he contributed on special teams, but by the
2014 Pinstripe Bowl
The 2014 Pinstripe Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 27, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The fifth annual Pinstripe Bowl, it was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that co ...
, he had emerged as the team's "top" running back, as evidenced by back-to-back games in which he rushed for at least 130 yards against
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
towards the end of the season.
Nevada
Lynch received his degree from Penn State, and elected to play his 5th year for eligibility with the
Nevada Wolf Pack football
The Nevada Wolf Pack football program represents the University of Nevada, Reno (commonly referred to as "Nevada" in athletics) in college football. The Wolf Pack competes in the Mountain West Conference at the Football Bowl Subdivision level of ...
team as a graduate transfer.
On October 17, 2016 Lynch announced his retirement from football after having suffered multiple concussions; at the time of his announcement, Lynch was a top prospect for the
2017 CFL Draft.
References
External links
Penn State Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Akeel
1994 births
Living people
American football running backs
Penn State Nittany Lions football players
Nevada Wolf Pack football players
Sportspeople from Toronto
Canadian players of American football
Gridiron football people from Ontario