Tight end Matt Lynch’s transfer from UCLA could rile things up in a CSU-heavy household.
If the fates are kind, Matt Lynch will finally suit up for a college football game in Fort Collins. The only catch? He’ll be doing it as a CU Buff.
“I’m sure, deep down, it does (rankle the family) a little bit,” Lynch, the former Legacy High School quarterback admitted with a chuckle. “But my parents were supporting me with my decision, whatever school I went to.”
And welcome to a Broomfield house divided. Lynch’s little brother Ryan is a redshirt sophomore on the CSU football team. His father, Kevin, was a defensive end under Rams coach Earle Bruce. His uncle, Sean Moran, played at CSU under Bruce and Sonny Lubick en route to the NFL.
Only when Matt takes the field on Sept. 5 at Canvas Stadium, he won’t be wearing the family’s traditional green and gold.
“Coming out of high school, (CU) was always a school I wanted to go to,” said Lynch, who earlier this week announced he was joining the Buffs as a graduate transfer from UCLA.
“I never got that opportunity. But now that it’s come around a second time, it means a little bit more. I couldn’t pass it up.”
The ex-UCLA tight end said 10 schools called after he left the Bruins and entered the transfer portal in January. Some asked the 6-foot-4 Lynch to play quarterback, while others pursued him at tight end. That latter group included the Buffs, who are having him walk on.
Rated as the No. 3 prospect in the state for the Class of 2016 by 247Sports, Lynch had originally committed to the family program, CSU, as a prep signal-caller. But when then-coach Jim McElwain left Fort Collins for the University of Florida in December 2014, Lynch reopened his recruiting and eventually settled on Westwood the next spring.
Only the Bruins kept shuffling the deck on the offensive side of the ball, and he found himself getting lost in that shuffle along the way.
Lynch made his first appearance behind center at Utah in 2017, throwing a touchdown pass in Salt Lake City. He moved to tight end a year ago, appearing in 12 games last fall on special teams and as a reserve tight end, catching a touchdown pass in a 20-17 loss at Arizona.
“Four (offensive coordinators) in four years,” Lynch lamented. “A new offense every year.
“I didn’t sign up for that. But that’s something I can hang my hat on. I can say, ‘Hey, you show me an offense, I’ll pick it up pretty quick.’ ”
Lynch knew CU tight ends coach Taylor Embree, a UCLA alum, when the latter was a graduate assistant for the Bruins from 2013-15. The chance to reconnect with Embree made the idea of spending his final college season along the Front Range even more appealing.
So, too, did the possibility of more playing time under a new Buffs coaching regime.
“I kind of wanted to get a fresh look,” said Lynch, who plans to pursue a master’s degree at CU in organizational leadership. “I was like, ‘I can graduate, and I think I should try my options and see if I can be (first-team) or (second-team) at a new school next year.’ ”
On the flip side, Ryan’s already talking smack via Twitter. And how will Mom and Dad dress for the 2020 edition of the Rocky Mountain Showdown with kids on sidelines?
“I don’t know,” Lynch said, chuckling again. “We’ll have to see what they show up in.”