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.
(
* 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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Canada, and has described herself as "half black and half white".[1] She has been acting since she was seven years old, receiving professional training with Children's Theatre Arts. She earned theatre credits in local productions of Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, Grease, Cinderella, Mousetrap and Music Medley.
In 2001, she signed on as a series regular on the Canadian teen drama television series Edgemont as Bekka Lawrence. The half hour sitcom/drama which was broadcast on CBC Television which premiered January 4, 2001 and ended July 21, 2005 after a five season run. She was also a series regular in another Canadian television series 2030 CE in 2002 but due to financial issues the series was cancelled.
She guest starred in an episode of The L Word as Roxanne in 2004. She went on to appear as a series regular in the short-lived ABC Teen Drama series Life As We Know It as Sue Miller. The series which ran for one season was cancelled due to low ratings. In 2006 she starred in films She's The Man and The Covenant. She was cast in another ABC series Secrets of a Small Town. Despite being well received, the series was not picked up due to its high budget.
In 2008, she guest starred as Kimberly MacIntyre in four episodes of The CW's 90210. She also starred in a leading role as Lily in J. J. Abrams Cloverfield. Released by Paramount Pictures, the film was a box office success earning worldwide $198,602,318 and was well received by critics.
In 2009, she appeared in Amusement as Lisa. The film which was set to be released theatrically by New Line Cinema, but after a negative reaction it was instead released straight-to-DVD. She was announced to have signed on as a series regular in another CW television series Melrose Place, a reboot
