Who is Marshawn Lynch?

Who is Marshawn Terrell Lynch? The football world knows hims as Marshawn Lynch, he is an American football running back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bills in the first round (12th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. Lynch was the Bills' first 1,000 yard rookie rusher since Greg Bell in 1984.He finished the season with 1,115 total rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Lynch played collegiately at California where he was the school's second all-time career rusher with 3,230 yards. Lynch holds the school record for most 100-yard rushing games at 17.

 Early years

Lynch was born April 22, 1986, in Oakland, California, he attended Oakland Technical High School. In his 2003 season, Lynch amassed 1,722 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns in only 8 regular season games, and an additional 375 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 2 post-season games. He was voted a PrepStar and SuperPrep All-American and was also voted as the San Francisco East Bay Player of the Year.
Lynch experimented with other positions in high school. He played defensive back and accumulated 20 interceptions his senior year. His coaches put him at defensive end for one game, and he forced 3 fumbles. Lynch also played some quarterback and wide receiver in high school. Rivals.com had him ranked #1 in the nation as a defensive back, but he decided to stick to his passion at running back. Lynch ended his high school career as the second-ranked running back in the nation in 2004 behind Adrian Peterson by Rivals.com.
In addition to being a star football player, Lynch was also an excellent track sprinter and played on Oakland Tech's basketball team alongside former Cal star and current Cleveland Cavaliers forward Leon Powe.

 College career

Lynch attended University of California, Berkeley playing for the Golden Bears where his major was social welfare.
As a true freshman in 2004, Lynch was the primary backup to senior J.J. Arrington. Lynch carried the ball 71 times for 628 yards with 8 rushing touchdowns and an additional 147 yards on 19 receptions and 2 receiving touchdowns.
In 2005, Arrington graduated and Lynch became the starting running back. Even though he missed 2 games due to a hand and finger injury, he still amassed 1,246 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns on 196 carries and an additional 125 yards on 15 receptions. In the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl, Lynch ran for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries and was named MVP. In addition to his great running ability, he also has a tight grip on the ball, fumbling just once in his career.
Lynch wore jersey No. 24 his freshman year but switched to No. 10, his high school number. This switch placed him in sequence with his cousins Virdell Larkins (No. 9) and Robert Jordan (No. 11), also teammates at Cal.
In the 2006 preseason, Lynch earned a spot on the watchlist for the Maxwell Award, was named 8th best player in the nation by Sports Illustrated and earned several preseason All-American accolades.

On July 22, 2006, the Cal football program officially launched the campaign for Lynch to win the 2006 Heisman Trophy with the opening of the website Marshawn10.com featuring Lynch's highlights from the 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons. Lynch was named to the 2006 All Pac-10 team First Team. Lynch not only earned various awards, he also scored the game-winning overtime touchdown against Washington, which he said was his favorite career highlight, after which Lynch spontaneously drove around the football field in an injury cart, pretending to ghost ride .
Lynch was also named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 and an AFCA (Coaches') All-America in 2006.
In his final game for California, Lynch ran for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns against Texas A&M in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on December 28, 2006. He shared the Co-Offensive Player of the Game award with teammate, quarterback Nate Longshore.
On January 2, 2007, Lynch announced he would forgo his senior season and entered the NFL draft.

Career statistics

Statistics up to date as of December 28, 2006. College statistics from CalBears.com and ESPN.com.

Rushing

Year	Team	Games-Games Started	Carries	Yards	Average	Long	TDs
2004	Cal	12-0	71	628	8.8	70	8
2005	Cal	10-9	196	1,246	6.4	52	10
2006	Cal	13-11	223	1,356	6.1	71	11
Totals		35-20	490	3,230	6.6	71	29

 Receiving

Year	Team	Games-Games Started	Receptions	Yards	Average	Long	TDs
2004	Cal	12-0	19	147	7.7	29	2
2005	Cal	10-9	15	125	8.3	25	0
2006	Cal	13-11	34	328	9.6	28	4
Totals		35-20	68	600	8.8	29	6

 Kick returns

Year	Team	Games-Games Started	Returns	Yards	Average	Long	TDs
2004	Cal	12-0	15	372	24.8	69	0
2005	Cal	10-9	13	271	20.8	34	0
2006	Cal	13-11	5	101	20.2	27	0
Totals		35-20	33	744	22.5	69	0

 NFL career

 2007 NFL Draft

On April 28, 2007, Lynch was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He agreed with the Bills to a six-year, $18.935 million contract. The deal included a $3 million signing bonus and contains $10.285 million in total guarantees.

Pre-draft measureables
Wt	40y	20ss	3-cone	Vert	BP	Wonderlic
215 lb*	4.46s*	4.58s*	7.09s*	35.5 in*	20*	14*

(* represents NFL Combine)

 Buffalo Bills

 2007 season

Lynch entered the 2007 season as the starter at running back for the Buffalo Bills. In his first game of the regular season on September 9, he gained 90 yards on 19 carries and scored his first touchdown in a 15-14 loss to the Denver Broncos. His breakout game came on November 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Lynch's success on the ground was instrumental in keeping the touted Cincinnati offense on the sidelines, as he rushed 29 times for 153 yards, including a 56 yard touchdown run. Lynch also completed a touchdown pass to tight end Robert Royal, the first touchdown pass completed by a Bills non-quarterback since 1981.
Lynch injured his ankle the following week against the Miami Dolphins and missed the next three games. He returned to play on December 9 for the Bills' second season game against the Dolphins, rushing for 107 yards and making his first career fumble. The game marked the first time that the Bills' offense produced two 100-yard rushers since 1996, as Fred Jackson also rushed for 115 yards. Lynch went over the 1,000 yard rushing mark on December 23 against the New York Giants, scoring a touchdown in the 38-21 loss which resulted in the Giants clinching a playoff berth. This made him the fourth Bills rookie to break the 1,000 mark, and the first since Greg Bell in 1984. He finished a successful rookie season with 1,115 total rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Lynch was expected to be more involved in Buffalo's passing game in 2008, his second season as a pro. The Bills' new offensive coordinator Turk Schonert had stated a number of times that he anticipated Lynch "being in on third down a lot more" this season, citing Lynch's inexperience as a reason he was not very involved in 2007.

 2008 season

Lynch was held to a 2008 low 16 yards rushing in a matchup against the New York Jets on November 2. He did not break 100 yards rushing in a game until November 17 on a Monday Night Football matchup against the Cleveland Browns, when he rushed for 119. The game also marked his first receiving touchdown. Two weeks later Lynch posted a season high 134 rushing yards against the San Francisco 49ers on November 30. Lynch went over the 1,000 yard mark for the season on December 14 in a rematch against the Jets when he rushed for 127 yards. He was able to stay healthy until injuring his shoulder in the second half of a Bills victory on December 21 against the Denver Broncos, during which he rushed for his eighth touchdown of the season. The injury kept him out of the Bills' final game of the season against the New England Patriots. Lynch finished the 2008 season with 1,036 yards rushing and eight rushing touchdowns. He posted 300 receiving yards on 47 receptions, including a receiving touchdown, compared to 184 yards on 18 receptions for the 2007 season. Lynch was selected to his first Pro Bowl, replacing an injured Chris Johnson. This made him the first Bills running back to head to the Pro Bowl since Travis Henry in 2002. Lynch was initially a first alternate.

2009 season

Lynch carries the ball against the New York Jets in October 2009.

Following his guilty plea on misdemeanor weapons charges during the 2009 offseason, Lynch met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for a disciplinary hearing. 
 On April 9, the NFL announced that Lynch would be suspended for the Bills' first three games for violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy. Lynch appealed the league's suspension on May 14 in an attempt to have it reduced or nullified, only to have it upheld by Goodell later on August 3. When interviewed on the topic, Lynch has said that he was not surprised when the suspension was upheld, and that he loves playing too much and will try to keep himself out of situations in which there is a risk of being suspended.
Lynch played his first game of the 2009 season against the Miami Dolphins and played the rest of the season. Beginning November 29, he was supplanted as the Bills' starting running back by Fred Jackson, who had the first 1,000 yard rushing season of his career. Lynch finished the season with 450 yards on 120 carries with two rushing touchdowns and did not break 100 rushing yards in a single game.

 Personal

Lynch has several relatives who have also played professional football. His cousins are wide receiver Robert Jordan, who played for Cal and the San Francisco 49ers, and former Raiders Quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Lynch is also cousins with former University of San Diego quarterback Josh Johnson of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lynch's uncle, Lorenzo Lynch, had an 11-year career in the NFL.
Lynch was nicknamed "Money" in college. Additionally, he has referred to himself as being in "beast mode" during games.
Lynch has embraced the Buffalo community, in stark contrast to former Bills RB Willis McGahee, as noted by an interview with ESPN's Kenny Mayne. In the video interview, which has become an internet sensation, Lynch talks about his love of Applebees, and his teammates joke that he loves chain restaurants.

 Legal issues

On June 14, 2006, Lynch was the victim of mistaken identity when unknown assailants shot at his car outside his high school alma mater as he was about to visit his little sister on her graduation day. He was not the intended target of the shooting, and no one was injured. The shooter phoned Lynch's mother to apologize.
On January 25, 2007, Lynch was accused of sexual assault by his former girlfriend. The incident reportedly happened on December 13, 2006, outside the woman's home in Emeryville, California. On January 29, 2007, an Alameda County Deputy District Attorney who specializes in domestic violence cases declined to press charges, citing a lack of evidence and "grave inconsistencies" in the alleged victim's accusations. Lynch was never arrested or charged.
On March 3, 2007, an Alameda County judge threw out a restraining order that Lynch's ex-girlfriend had issued against him because it was obtained improperly.

During June 2008, Lynch was investigated for his involvement in a hit and run accident that occurred in Buffalo on May 31, 2008. His 2008 Porsche Cayenne struck and injured Kimberley Shpeley, of Ontario, Canada, before leaving the scene. It should be noted that Shpeley was extremely intoxicated, and dancing in the middle of the street. After the 27 day saga, on June 26, 2008, Lynch apologized and accepted a guilty plea to a single count of failure to exercise due care to avoid striking a pedestrian, a traffic violation. He was assessed a $100 fine, and his driver’s license and car registration were revoked. Because a Buffalo police officer gave testimony that Shpeley did not suffer "severe physical injury," Lynch avoided criminal charges for the incident. Lynch was later sued by Shpeley on December 28, 2009 for negligence. Shpeley's first lawyer, who many Buffalo residents may recognize from television ads, refused to represent her, presumably because he didn't see potential to win the case.
Three days after his 2009 Pro Bowl appearance, Lynch was arrested on February 11 in Culver City, California. Lynch and two companions were sitting in a running 2006 Mercedes-Benz when police approached; after smelling marijuana, the police searched the car and discovered a loaded gun that was determined to belong to Lynch. He was released the same day after posting $35,000 bail. Lynch's felony charge was reduced to three misdemeanors, and no drug charges were filed. On March 5, Lynch pled guilty to a single misdemeanor gun charge and was sentenced to three years of probation, and 80 hours of community service. He also agreed to submit to police searches at any time. The two other misdemeanor gun charges were dismissed.
Lynch was accused of stealing $20 from the wife of a Buffalo police officer in a local TGI Friday's on December 7, 2009. A complaint was filed against him the next day.

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