Today, nobody would’ve been a prouder grandfather than John Lynch.
In town at a local South Bend news station WNDU, four-star defensive end Aaron Lynch went public with his verbal commitment to Notre Dame, choosing the Irish over Florida State, Florida and Clemson. Making the weekend extra special, the 6-foot-6, 266-pound Lynch and his mother Alice were also able to spread some of "Papa's" ashes on the campus grounds.
“He just loved college football, and he thought Notre Dame would be a great choice for me,” Aaron told Irish Sports Daily back on July 19th. Recruited by assistant coach Tony Alford, Lynch becomes the 16th prospect in the class-of-2011 to give head coach Brian Kelly his verbal commitment, and third defensive linemen, joining Brad Carrico (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and Tony Springmann (Fort Wayne, IN/Bishop Dwenger).
“My dad was pushing for Notre Dame,” Alice told Irish Sports Daily on July 11th. Her father passed away on May 3rd. “He didn’t want to persuade Aaron, nobody wanted to do that with Aaron, but he knew my Dad loved Notre Dame.”
Ranked as the seventh-best defensive end in the country, and 46th-best prospect overall, Lynch is the fifth-member of the ESPN 150 to commit to the Irish. He loved Notre Dame since his first trip to campus for a spring practice back in April.
“When I visited Notre Dame, I wanted to take all the other visits to all the other schools, and I felt love from all the other schools, but I left my heart at Notre Dame, and that’s where it’s going to stay.”
Lynch’s mother will be right by his side, as she plans to move to South Bend as well.
“Obviously I really knew that’s where he wanted to go,” Alice began. Besides his favorites, Lynch held roughly 30 scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Iowa, Miami, Ohio State, South Carolina, South Florida and West Virginia. “I knew from the moment when he came back from there, that’s where he wanted to go. I knew he was going to follow his heart, and for Aaron to make the decision to go to Notre Dame, you can’t do better than that with the academics they have, and with the program Brian Kelly is putting together. It’s going to be one hell of a team in the next couple years.
“I grew up in Ohio. My brother and everybody, talking about that tunnel and tradition, for my son, I’m speechless in a way. I’ll be very happy to watch my son run out of that tunnel.”
So will the Irish coaching staff.
As a junior, Lynch registered 52 tackles, 16 sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and two pass breakups. To get a jump start on his college career, he’ll enroll at Notre Dame in January for the spring semester.
“They said I’m going to be a beast at it,” Lynch stated. “I know I’m going to get coached by great coaches like coach (Mike) Elston.”
Lynch also knows he’ll get to play with great friends. He’s already become tight with several fellow members of Notre Dame’s current recruiting class including Clay Burton (Venice, Fla./Venice), Jarrett Grace (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain), Justice Hayes (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) and Jordan Prestwood (Plant City, Fla./Plant City).
“We talk like everyday,” Lynch said. “We’re always on Facebook talking to each other, or we’re texting each other all the time.”
Lynch would’ve loved to share today’s moment with his Papa, but he knows his spirit is nearby. In fact with the spreading of his ashes, for the college years, he’ll always be nearby.
“It’s crazy,” Aaron said. “It makes me feel good to make my Papa happy.”
