Report: With Matt Rhule Leaving, James Lynch Expected to Declare for NFL Draft
After the Carolina Panthers hired Matt Rhule to be their next head coach on a monster seven-year deal, the Baylor Bears may also now go into the 2020 season without one of their best players.
According to Nick Canizales, of Channel 6 in Central Texas, with Rhule gone, James Lynch is expected to declare for the 2020 NFL Draft.
One source tells me that #Baylor is going to lose All-American James Lynch now that Matt Rhule is leaving. Source says that Lynch has told NFL agents that if Rhule stayed, he would stay. If Rhule left, he would declare for the NFL Draft. @6NewsCTX
— Nick Canizales (@NickCanizales) January 7, 2020
Lynch is coming off an incredible year where he was an All-Big 12 selection and named the 2019 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
Lynch led the Big 12 with 12.5 sacks, five more than anyone else in the league, and was second to Texas Tech’s Jordyn Brooks with 18.5 tackles for loss in helping Baylor reach the Big 12 Championship Game and coming within an overtime of likely playing in the College Football Playoff.
He was an All-Big 12 selection for two straight years and saw Baylor’s rise under Rhule first hand after being part of Rhule’s first recruiting class and being a part of the team’s rise from one win in 2017 to 11 wins this year.
Baylor will also lose key contributors to graduation such as wide receiver Denzel Mims, linebacker Blake Lynch and running back JaMycal Hasty.
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