Marshawn Lynch

Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football for the California Golden Bears, earning first-team All-American honors and winning Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year in 2006. Lynch was selected in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills, where he played three full seasons and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2008. He was traded to the Seahawks during the 2010 season.

With Seattle from 2010 to 2015, Lynch twice led the league in rushing touchdowns while extending his Pro Bowl selections to five and receiving one first-team All-Pro selection. He also helped the team win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XLVIII. His Beast Quake touchdown during the 2010–11 NFL playoffs, which saw him rush for 67 yards while breaking nine tackles, is considered one of the greatest runs in NFL history.

Lynch retired in 2015 following an injury-plagued year, but returned to the NFL in 2017 to play for the Oakland Raiders. After two seasons, Lynch retired a second time until he reunited with the Seahawks in 2019 for their last regular season game and playoff run. Since retiring for a third and final time, he has co-owned the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL), Beasts of Fan Controlled Football (FCF), and the Bay Area Panthers of the Indoor Football League (IFL).

Early life and education

Lynch grew up in Oakland, California, with three older siblings. He was raised by his mother, Delisa, who once held a 200-meter track record at Oakland Technical High School. Lynch started playing youth football in Oakland at a young age.

Lynch attended and graduated from the same high school as his mother, Oakland Technical High School, from 2000 to 2004.

At Oakland Tech, Lynch was a four-sport star for the Bulldogs football, basketball, track, and wrestling teams. In his 2003 season, Lynch amassed 1,722 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns in only eight regular-season games and an additional 375 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in two postseason games. He was voted a PrepStar and SuperPrep All-American and was also voted the San Francisco East Bay Player of the Year. In basketball, he played on the Oakland Tech's team alongside future Cal star Leon Powe. Lynch helped lead his team to the state semi-finals. As an athlete in the Bay Area, Lynch befriended and often played against film director and writer Ryan Coogler; who also grew up in the same part of Oakland as Lynch.

In addition to football, Lynch excelled in track and field, where he competed mainly as a sprinter, but also in jumping events. He recorded a personal-best time of 10.94 seconds in the 100-meter dash as a senior, while also posting top-leaps of 1.94 meters (6 ft, 4 in) in the high jump and 6.38 meters (20 ft, 10 in) in the long jump.

Lynch was a versatile athlete on the football field. He played defensive back, quarterback, wide receiver, and linebacker in high school. Rivals.com recruiting network had him ranked #2 in the nation at running back behind Adrian Peterson.

He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in social welfare and played for the Golden Bears football team from 2004 to 2006.

In 2020, he received an honorary degree from Princeton University after he was invited to be the Class of 2020 speaker.

College career

2004 season

As a true freshman in 2004 at University of California Berkeley, Lynch was the primary backup to senior J. J. Arrington. In his collegiate debut against Air Force in the regular-season opener, he had seven carries for 92 yards and a touchdown in the 56–14 victory. On November 13, in the 42–12 victory over Washington, he had nine carries for 121 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with a 29-yard touchdown reception. One week later, against Stanford, Lynch had 122 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. In addition, he threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Burl Toler in the 41–6 victory. Overall, Lynch carried the ball 71 times for 628 yards with eight rushing touchdowns and 147 yards on 19 receptions and two receiving touchdowns in his freshman season.

2005 season

In 2005, Arrington had graduated and Lynch became the starting running back. 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, who wore No. 9, and Robert Jordan, who wore No. 11. Lynch and his cousins were teammates at Cal. Lynch started off the season strong with 24 carries for 147 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 41–3 victory over Sacramento State. Almost a month later, on October 1, he had 107 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a 28–0 victory over Arizona. The next week, he had 135 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 47–40 loss to UCLA. On October 22, against Washington State, he had 160 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 42–38 loss. In the next game, a 27–20 loss to Oregon, he had 189 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. In the regular-season finale against the Stanford Cardinal, he had 123 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 27–3 victory. In the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl, Lynch ran for 194 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries and was named MVP against BYU. Even though he missed two games due to a hand and finger injury, he still amassed 1,246 rushing yards with 10 rushing touchdowns on 196 carries and 125 receiving yards on 15 receptions. He finished fifth in the Pac-10 in rushing yards and sixth in rushing touchdowns.

2006 season

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. In the spring, he joined the Cal Track & Field team, and he competed in the 60-meter dash, recording a personal-best time of 6.98 seconds at the 2006 MPSF Championships.

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 2004 to 2006.

In the second game of the season, against Minnesota, Lynch had 139 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 42–17 victory. In the next game against Portland State, he finished with 112 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 42–16 victory. In the following game against Arizona State, he had 17 carries for 124 yards in the 49–21 victory. In the next game, against Oregon State, he posted his fourth consecutive 100-yard game with 106 yards and a touchdown in the 41–13 victory. After a 50-yard performance in the 45–24 victory over the Oregon Ducks, he had 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the 21–3 victory over Washington State. In the next game against Washington, he had another stellar game with 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning overtime touchdown, in the 31–24 victory. He later called the run his favorite career highlight, after which Lynch spontaneously drove around the football field in an injury cart, pretending to ghost ride. Lynch was named to the 2006 All-Pac-10 team First-team for his performance in the 2006 season. 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 Cal, Lynch ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the 45–10 victory over 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. He finished his final season with Golden Bears with a Pac-10 leading 1,356 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, 34 receptions, 328 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns.

Lynch holds the Cal school record for most 100-yard rushing games with 17.

On January 2, 2007, Lynch announced he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2007 NFL draft.

College statistics

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

2007 season

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

Lynch entered the NFL as the starter at running back for the Bills. In his first career regular-season game on September 9, he gained 90 yards on 19 carries and scored his first touchdown in a 14–15 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 running back Joe Cribbs in 1981.