NIU football: Justin Lynch making move to running back

DeKALB – He’ll block. He’ll catch. He’ll run.

He said he doesn’t really care what he does. Northern Illinois University running back Justin Lynch just wants to win.

“I’d do anything to help this team out, no matter what it is,” Lynch said. “Face blocking, wide-out routes, anything to help this team win.”

Lynch, a quarterback throughout his high school career at Mount Carmel and collegiately at Temple, took a redshirt last year to transition to running back.

Through fall drills this year ahead of the Huskies’ opener Aug. 31 against Western Illinois, Lynch hasn’t been strictly lining up at halfback. He’s been at fullback and he’s also been split out wide.

And he said he’s loving it.

“I’m adjusting every day,” Lynch said. “We’ve got a good room, good coaches to help me out along the way. It’s definitely something new, but I’ve made a lot of improvement.”

Lynch played the first four games last season, plus the bowl game, a 21-19 win against Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl to secure the first bowl win for the NIU program since the 2011 season, to maintain his redshirt.

He had 13 carries for 88 yards last season with a touchdown, plus he completed his only pass attempt for a touchdown. In 2022, he played in the last nine games of the year but only attempted 28 passes, completing 13 of them for 146 yards. He also ran 64 times for 280 yards.

At Temple in 2021, he played 11 games as a freshman, attempting 154 passes and carrying the ball 75 times.

“What’s great about him is he’s played quarterback, so he knows the offense really, really well,” offensive coordinator and running backs coach Wesley Beschorner said. “We can move him around. Smart, tough, good with the ball in his hands. We have to find ways to utilize him in the whole total scheme.”

NIU coach Thomas Hammock said the offense will utilize Lynch in multiple ways. He said there may even be more ways than what they’ve showed during the two open practices so far.

Hammock equated him to Clint Ratkovich, listed as a fullback on the 2021 MAC Championship team that also was used as a traditional running back at times and created matchup nightmares for defenses.

“He’s going to play all the skill positions for us this year. He may even play quarterback,” Hammock said. “He’s going to do some things and create mismatches. He is a chess piece very similar to Clint Ratkovich. We need to use him appropriately.

“Is he a fullback? Is he a running back? Is he a wide receiver? Is he a tight end?” he said. “I think those types of pieces allow you to be more versatile on offense.”

Beschorner equated him to current Huskies Brock Lampe and Grayson Barnes, who line up at multiple offensive positions for NIU.

The more ways they can use one player, Beschorner said, the better chance the Huskies have to be successful.

Even though he didn’t start playing running back until after 2023 spring practices, running was always a part of his game. He ran for 1,033 yards and 18 touchdowns in his last full season at Mount Carmel.

“He’s got a natural running ability. That’s his natural ability,” Beschorner said. “He did a lot of that in high school. Obviously, he threw the ball, power read, but you go back and watch some of his film, he’s a vertical runner. So, that wasn’t hard to teach. But it’s just a different time when you’re getting the ball seven yards back instead of five yards. But he’s making a good transition and has been a fun kid to coach.”

The Huskies went 7-6 last season with a bowl win. Lynch said workouts since have been incredible, and he’s expecting a big leap for the team this year.

“Coming off the bowl game and even summer workouts, there’s a lot of juice as they say,” Lynch said. “Our practices have been intense all fall camp. It’s been a really good fall camp this year. There’s a lot of guys growing. We’re a pretty mature team now.”