Wolf Pack football coach Brian Polian first heard Akeel Lynch's name when the running back was 16 years old.
Lynch was only a high school sophomore at the time but the two already had a mutual link. Polian grew up in Buffalo and played his prep football at St. Francis High and Lynch, who was born in Canada, was the up-and-coming stud tailback at Polian’s alma mater. So, Polian’s old high school coach, Jerry Smith, who was still running the St. Francis program, called Polian up to seek guidance for his burgeoning star.
Polian, then an assistant coach at Stanford, immediately invited Lynch to come to the Cardinal’s camp.