Football signing day: Folsom’s big kid Lynch is a big get for Sac State
DeShawn Lynch was the large one among the lot of little ones. He caught the attention of everyone, from weary parents who didn’t want their child bowled over, to the oddly curious.
“DeShawn was always this massive kid, in the Georgia dirt to play,” said DeShawn’s mother Tamiko, with a laugh. “Then these adults would come up and say, ‘Hey mom, where’s he going to high school?’ What? He’s 5. What do you mean what high school? Already?’”
Someone was projecting, their priorities in the dirt. Turns out, Lynch kept growing, wound up out West where his mom grew up, and settled in nicely at Folsom High School, where a late bloomer in football caught on quick.
A 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive lineman and tight end, Lynch attracted national attention as a recruit, including full scholarship offers from programs such as Arizona State, Oregon and USC. He decided on Sacramento State, a major get for the Hornets, who are coming off their finest season in 31 years. Lynch signed his binding letter of intent early Wednesday morning, then had an afternoon signing party at Folsom High, surrounded by family, friends and teammates.
“I’m relieved, mostly, and proud,” Lynch said. “It got to the point where it was a grind. I like Sac State because it’s a good school, I know the coaches and they gave me the option to play both sides of the ball. I’m very happy. I saw Sac State play (in 2019) and knew they’d go crazy with success with the coaches.”
The coaches he refers to are a host of those who coached at Folsom, including Hornets head coach Troy Taylor, assistant head coach Kris Richardson and assistants Sam Cole, Bobby Fresques and Chris Parry. They all arrived at Sac State just over a year ago and led Sac State to a share of its first Big Sky Conference championship and during the early signing period in December as a program fast on the rise.
Folsom coach Paul Doherty said Sac State landed one of Northern California’s top players in the likable Lynch.
“It’s a great get for Sac State, and the coaches know him well,” Doherty said. “There were times he looked like the best player on the planet, catching a screen and doing things off the charts. Or he sheds people as a lineman and looks like J.J. Watt. He touched the ball four times as a senior and scored each time — three touchdown catches and a fumble recovery, and he’s still learning the game.”
Said Taylor of Lynch, “He’s big, athletic, incredibly skilled, and a great kid. There were other colleges trying to bump us but he stuck with us. He’s incredibly talented.”
Tamiko Lynch grew up appreciating football. She was a cheerleader who rooted on a 12-1 football team at Valley High in Sacramento, went to Sac State and now works in the mortgage industry. She led a spirited group of some 15-20 family and friends at Folsom games. So imagine her excitement when her son made plays and her angst when he got caught in a pile up of bodies.
“Yes, I’m that mom in the stands, the loud/proud one,” she said. “For me personally watching him, I know DeShawn loves to play, but it doesn’t make it easier. When he tweaked his knee late in the season, your heart drops. As big as he is, he’s still my baby.”
She added, “I’m so impressed with how humble he is, an all around good kid with this aura about him that draws people. Our home is so full of love and he’s a big part of that. He’s kept a level head. Schools came out of the woodwork late — Kansas, Arizona. What’s best for DeShawn? He wanted to be with coaches who know him, can they get into his heart, who understand him to the core, and that’s what he has at Sac State.”
The next Lynch in line is Nate. He’s the freshman brother to DeShawn, a towering sort at 6-6 and 285 pounds. He looks down at his older brother while also looking up to him.
Who else signed
Most area players made binding commitments reflective of how difficult is it so secure scholarships.
One who did sign a full scholarship package with a Division I program on Wednesday was Pleasant Grove lineman Jack O’Connor with Idaho State of the Big Sky Conference. Area powerhouse programs did not have anyone sign. He is a 3.8 student and towers at 6-foot-7.
On Wednesday, Division II Western Oregon signed Cordova tight end Kenneth Brown, El Dorado quarterback Danny Bell and Rio Linda lineman Eddie Rabuku. Some committed to nonscholarship Ivy League programs such as Jesuit receiver/cornerback Anthony Chideme-Alfaro with Cornell, and others accepted walk-on invitations, including Jesuit tight end Cooper Shults with Oregon and Placer fullback Hans Grassman with UC Davis.
Sac State signed six players after signing 14 during the early December period, including defensive back Elan Moore out of Sierra College and Sheldon High, three-star quarterback Yaro Duvalko out of Vancouver, Washington, a one-time Utah State commit, and receiver Jayden Dixon-Veal out of Rancho Cucamonga High. UC Davis signed 14 during the December period include quarterback Jayden Machado of Sacramento City College out of Elk Grove and defensive lineman Carter Sullivan out of Antelope High.
“We’re fired up,” Taylor said of his recruiting clas in general. “We’re hitting the local area, and we’re getting kids from Southern California and out of state.”
UC Davis signed 14 during the December period, and on Wednesday Aggies coach Dan Hawkins and staff landed speedy running back Peyton Dixon, a Nevada native who transferred from Fresno State.
American River College, a state-wide junior-college powerhouse the past two decades, had seven players sign: cornerback Julian Reed out of Grant to Cal Poly, defensive end Da’Marcus Johnson on Burbank to Fresno State, tackle Tucker Dunbar of Folsom to UTEP, center James Ghilardi of Christian Brothers to San Diego, tackle Eli Otero of Oak Ridge to Cal Poly, receiver Eric Davis of Folsom to Davenport University and receiver Naewuan Parker of Woodcreek to Montana State.
Ree’s father, Lynn, is a longtime football and track coach at Grant. Gilardi’s grandfather, Larry Ghilardi, is in the Sac State football Hall of Fame and coached for years at ARC. Johnson’s brothers, PJ and DJ, were scholarship players out of Burbank.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 3:42 PM.