Proving it Every Day
September 22, 2004 04:29 PM | General
 |
||
| Lynch |
When a team approaches a pivotal game, the coach of that club typically singles out the keys of winning. As any football enthusiast would tell you, the team that wins the battle of the trenches is guaranteed to hold the advantage.
On the defensive side of the ball, controlling the line of scrimmage starts with the hogs who man the middle. Entering his second season as the starting middle man on the West Virginia defense, senior Ben Lynch will again be counted on to lead the Mountaineers up front.
“I’d like to think that the past two years I’ve tried to lead the defensive line,” Lynch says. “Last year we had one senior and he was injured most of the season. As far as being a leader, it’s pretty much the same as last year.”
One seldom hears of a defensive lineman leading the team in very many statistical categories. Lynch and his fellow front men are responsible for creating lanes, angles and opportunities for their teammates to make plays.
“I’d like to try to get a little more pressure up the middle,” he explains. “We may not get a lot of sacks because with a three-man rush it’s going to be difficult, getting double and triple-teamed sometimes, but we can close up the pocket a little more from the front. We need to get more pressures.”
Last year, Lynch proved that he had the ability to step up when his team needed him the most. His best game came in West Virginia’s heartbreaking loss to Miami in the Orange Bowl when he registered eight tackles. In WVU’s victory over No. 3 Virginia Tech, the veteran had four tackles and a sack.
In one of his more memorable plays of the season, Lynch worked off the block of Tech All-American center Jake Grove and helped stop running back Kevin Jones for a loss on a critical third down early in the second half, and Lynch’s effort made quite an impression on ESPN analysts Craig James and Rod Gilmore, who gave the Oil City, Pa., native high praises.
“Lynch has been doing this all night,” James said. “Look at him swim, get rid of the center and let the linebackers come through.”
“He shouldn’t be able to do this,” Gilmore added in disbelief. “He’s only 265 pounds. He’s playing against an All-America candidate.”
After a 2003 season that saw Lynch register 64 tackles (13 for a loss) and two sacks, the Delta Tau Delta All-American who now tips the scales at 280 pounds knows he won’t sneak up on anyone this season.
“It’s great to have people expect a lot out of you,” he says. “I expect the best out of myself all the time. My coach in high school used to tell me I was my own worst enemy, which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned.”
As important as Lynch’s individual contributions will be, the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll member is smart enough to know that a defensive line can’t be successful without team unity.
“As for being the man, we’re a team,” Lynch states matter-of-factly. “I’m just one person. As a defensive line, there are three of us. There’s no way one person can do it himself. It’s all of us as a unit.”
With unity comes success, and with success comes expectations. As far as Lynch is concerned, the high prospects are meaningless until the Mountaineers are able to prove their worth on the field.
“I don’t care what the outsiders think,” Lynch says. “I’ve said a hundred times that it’s just an opinion. You need to have the attitude that you have something to prove and you need to prove it every day.”
That is what head coach Rich Rodriguez has worked to instill in this team since his arrival in 2001. According to Lynch, the attitude adjustment is beginning to pay dividends.
“Coach Rod did a great job of cleaning house and bringing everyone to that mindset and winning attitude,” he explains. “To win at the highest level you have to believe you can first. I think people are starting to believe we have a shot at achieving BIG EAST titles and everything like that if everybody works hard and plays West Virginia football.”
After a hard working off-season, Lynch enters the 2004 season in the best playing shape of his career. Lynch even simulated the wear and tear of the regular season by pushing himself harder than usual during fall camp.
“I pushed myself a little harder in the weight room during camp to make my legs and body a little more tired as to simulate being worn out in the middle of the season,” he says. “I wanted to challenge myself to see how I came through and I think I completed the rest of fall camp well.”
As long as Lynch dons the Old Gold and Blue, Mountaineer fans can be assured that he will continue to overachieve and work to be mentally and physically sharper than each of his opponents.
Jarrod Sudduth is a student assistant in the WVU sports communications office.
