Lynch Earns First Team AAC Honors
December 11, 2013 | Football
TAMPA, DEC. 11, 2013 – University of South Florida sophomore defensive end Aaron Lynch (Cape Coral) was named to the American Athletic Conference 2013 All-Conference First Team Defense Wednesday following a vote of the conference coaches.
Lynch, who led USF with six sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss on the year, was one of five Bulls honored on AAC all-conference teams. Lynch is USF's 17th first team all-conference selection encompassing three conferences and the Bulls' first in the AAC. He is the first defensive player to earn first team conference honors for the Bulls since Terrell McClain in 2010 and the 12th overall.
Senior linebacker DeDe Lattimore (Athens, Ga.) and senior defensive tackle Luke Sager (Niceville) were second team selections on defense for USF while junior tight end Mike McFarland (Tampa) and senior tailback Marcus Shaw (Arcadia) were second team selections on offense. USF has a total of 55 first or second team all-conference selections in 11 seasons of conference play.
Lynch, who was selected a 2011 first team freshman All-American after his first season of play at Notre Dame, posted 30 tackles on the season and finished strong with career-high tying totals of two sacks, four tackles for loss and six tackles at Rutgers. He tied for sixth in the AAC in both sacks and tackles for loss on the year.
Lattimore led USF with 98 tackles, 42 more than the next closest Bull, and ranked ninth in the AAC posting 8.2 tackles per game. He led the AAC and ranked 10th in the FBS forcing four fumbles and was second in the AAC and 22nd in the FBS recovering three fumbles, returning one for a touchdown in a victory over Cincinnati. He added an interception, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks on the year as he led the Bulls in tackles in five games, including a career high 18 in the final game at Rutgers that was one shy of the USF game record.
Sager was second on the Bulls with a career-best 11.5 tackles for loss and added three sacks to go with 25 tackles and a fumble recovery. The two-time academic all-conference selection who has already earned his undergraduate degree in communications will receive his master's degree in entrepreneurship in USF commencement ceremonies Saturday.
McFarland was the Bulls second leading receiver posting 23 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns. The 6-6 tight end had 17 of his 23 catches go for a first down or a touchdown on the year and also added three blocked field goals on the season, including one returned 75 yards for a touchdown in a victory over Cincinnati.
Shaw finished second in the AAC in rushing posting 76.5 yards per game. He posted three 100-yard games and ran for 94 yards or better in each of the Bulls first four games of the season before suffering a hamstring injury in the Cincinnati game and missing the following two contests. He finished the year with 765 yards rushing, good for the eighth-best mark in USF history, and three touchdowns.
