Q&A with 3-star offensive tackle Michael Lynn

Arizona is one of the schools standing out to the Denver-area standout

The offensive line was one of the weak spots for the Arizona Wildcats during spring ball, so it makes sense that the ‘Cats would like to add some more big guys up front. Jordan Morgan, a 3-star local standout from Marana High, is the only o-line commit.

Enter Michael Lynn. The 6-foot-7, 300-pound lineman from the Denver-area is one of Arizona’s biggest priorities right now. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 70 offensive tackle.

I caught up with the 3-star standout from Cherry Creek High School (Greenwood Village, CO) to discuss his recruiting and more.

AZ Desert Swarm: How many offers are you up to and who is on your list?

Michael Lynn: So far I’m up to 13 offers. Arizona is definitely one of the schools standing out. But all 13 are Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, Colorado State, Nebraska, North Dakota, Northern Colorado, Oklahoma State, South Dakota, UNLV, Utah, Washington State, and Wyoming.

You mentioned Arizona as a school standing out to you. What other schools are standing out to you and do you have a top schools list (like a “Top 5”)?

So I don’t have a Top 5 list yet because my coach told me he’s not done working with me and having me talk to coaches yet. But the schools that are standing out, and recruiting me the hardest, are Arizona, Boise State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Utah.

Moving on to your offseason: How did this spring go for you and what did you feel like you improved on in your game?

This spring, I mean, it was arguably my biggest spring. With all the offers coming in it was a lot motivation to continue and get better on my part. Honesty with this spring, it’s mostly been footwork stuff and perfecting my technique. At least getting as close to perfection as I can. And just learning different, you know, moves as an offensive lineman in a pass rush situation. Because when you’re an offensive lineman you just do the same thing every time. Obviously the d-end is going to learn.

But yeah I’ve been learning a lot of things, specifically my bait hand. You know, really working on my hip, throwing my hips in pass rush situations. Also some run blocking and perfecting the steps.

Have you attended any camps this summer or are you looking to attend any camps?

I attended The Opening, but not the finals. It was the regional in Dallas back in May. But I haven’t attended any school specific camps.

How do you feel your performance was in The Opening Regional?

Honestly, I felt like I didn’t do as well as I hoped. But I’m not going to let that drag me down. You know, you learn more from a loss than a win. So this is when I learned “Hey, this is what the top defensive ends and defensive tackles in the nation look like. This is what I have to prepare myself for at the next level.” And the whole thing helped me prepare for that. Because in Colorado, the competition is good but it’s not, you know, like Louisiana, Texas, or California good.

But that’s how I took The Opening. I knew it wouldn’t hurt my recruitment if I did bad. It might have helped if I did well. So I didn’t really see a loss coming from it. But it really helped me put into perspective what the next level is going to be like and who I’m going to be going against.

So you mentioned earlier that you are still talking with coaches. What schools, that haven’t offered you yet, do you feel are close to offering you?

The University of Oklahoma I feel is the closest one. I’m taking a visit out there on August 4th. I think I have a pretty good shot at being offered. I don’t want to jinx anything so knock on wood! But they don’t have any tackles committed this year yet. And it’s a great program and I really like the offensive line coach. I’ve been talking with him a lot.

That’s a perfect transition into discussing visits. Have there been any other visits that you’ve taken this offseason? What other visits do you have on the docket?

I’ve literally taken Oklahoma State, and that’s it. I plan on taking a visit to Oklahoma. I visited the schools I was interested in, like Boise State, ASU, and Nebraska as well. But that all happened in the spring. This summer I visited Oklahoma State because I hadn’t had a chance to. And the recent interest from Oklahoma intrigued me enough to take a visit out there and hoped to get offered because I’m really interested in the program too.

Moving on to Arizona specifically. How did the offer from the ‘Cats come around for you?

Coach (Joe) Gilbert came to the school. Obviously we couldn’t talk a lot due to the NCAA rules. But he saw me in person and he sized me up and really liked me. I have a big interest in playing for Arizona, especially since my buddy Robert Congel just transferred over there from Texas A&M. It would be really sweet to play with one of my brothers again.

Do you have any plans to visit Arizona in the future?

Yeah! Actually I have an official visit set up for, I believe, October 28th, or somewhere around that week. It’s the week they play Oregon and it’s going to be a good time.

What are you looking for when you head to Tucson for your visit?

I’ve never visited the campus before or really looked into it or done any research on it. I want to see what it’s like on a game day on Saturday. You know, go out there and see how the fans are pumped up for the game, especially playing a big team like Oregon.

I want to see how they play, especially under Coach (Kevin) Sumlin, the new coach. I want to see how they adapted this year to a new head coach and how they are going to respond to that. See how they come and and how they play you know? I want to see if they pass a lot or run a lot. What style of offense they run, spread or whatever.

When it comes time for you to make your college decision, what kind of things are you looking for in the school?

A big thing is I want to stay relatively close. I don’t want to have to fly 5, 6, 7 hours to come back home. I really want to stay somewhat close to Colorado, I love this state. And also, I want it to be a big college. You know big, big time feel. Because obviously the dream is to play in the league. So I want to be prepared for that.

Do you have a timeframe in mind when you will make your commitment?

Honestly I haven’t really decided a timeframe yet. But I’m kind of thinking either in season or even post season, like right after the season. I just don’t want it to affect my ability to play at all for my final year. So if I have to push it until post season I’m completely fine with that as well.

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Lynn will continue to be one of Arizona’s top priorities along the o-line moving forward, and for good reason.

As you can see above, he has a good head on his shoulders and is willing to see his faults and what he needs to work on. He has the work ethic to strengthen his weaknesses and that is something coaches love.

Looking at his film, you can tell Flynn loves contact and loves to drive his opponent back. He has an edge and nastiness to his game, which shows when he drives his opponent into the ground. He is incredibly strong and has size you can't teach. His frame will be able to support more muscle gain as well. Lynn uses his hands well and keeps his feet moving, allowing him to open big running lanes.

Joe Gilbert is his lead recruiter and they have good communication.

Arizona is doing really well in his recruitment and has positioned itself squarely in the mix leading into his senior season. Oklahoma State and Nebraska are right in there as well and, if they offer, Oklahoma will be as well. This will be a recruitment to watch as it unfolds heading into the last half of the year.

Below are Lynn’s junior highlights.

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