Jack Lynn hasn’t been around Big Ten football forever. It just seems that way.
The linebacker from Lake Zurich is a fifth-year senior at Minnesota. And he’s primed for a big season after going from scout team co-player of the year in 2012 to leading the team in tackles for a loss last year.
“It’s been a crazy journey, to be honest with you,” Lynn said during Big Ten media days Monday at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago.
“Redshirt freshman year wasn’t my greatest year. Very frustrating, disappointing. Being younger, I didn’t understand why they were doing the things they were doing.”
But Lynn didn’t pout. He kept working and waiting for his chance.
“It taught me to be patient,” he said of the slow start to his college career. “That was my main takeaway: just go in the weight room and get stronger. Came back with a vengeance.”
Lynn got on the field for three games in 2013, finishing with five tackles, before raising his profile considerably the past two seasons.
He had seven starts in 13 games as a sophomore, and 10 in 13 games last year. His 76 tackles and 11 tackles for loss last season earned him a spot on this year’s Athlon preseason all-conference team.
Now that Lynn is carrying 240 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame, the numbers could be even better this fall.
“He’s a great student of the game,” Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys said of Lynn. “He watches a lot of video. And he finally put on the weight that he needed.”
No argument on that from Lynn.
“I can feel it right away,” he said. “When you hit someone that’s heavier than you and you (were) going backwards — you’re stopping them now. It’s a big difference.”
Lynn isn’t just making an impact at the line of scrimmage. He’s also doing so in the huddle and on the sidelines, as evidenced by his selection as one of the Gophers’ captains.
“When the mood is kind of down … he’s that guy to just step in and (say), ‘Hey, we’ve got to pick it up,'” teammate Damarius Travis said.
Lynn might be saying that when the Gophers face one of their biggest rivals, Wisconsin. The Badgers have owned the series lately, winning 12 straight and 19 of 21.
How to change that?
“Play four quarters,” Lynn said. “What’s been lacking the few times I’ve played them has been the consistency.
“We’ll have one or two good quarters, we’re hanging in there and winning (before) a letup of a quarter or a mental error — a relapse, so to speak.”
Lynn gets one more chance to beat Wisconsin, in the regular-season finale on Nov. 26 in Madison. After that, and a possible bowl game if things break right for the Gophers, it’s on to the next chapter.
“The NFL is on my radar, hopefully,” said Lynn, a business and marketing major who’s looking for a career in sales. “If that doesn’t work out, I have some connections in Minneapolis I’d like to talk to.”
So even if Lynn is finally out of the Big Ten, he might not be leaving Big Ten country.
Twitter @mikeclarkpreps