William & Mary star Nate Lynn overcame early knockdown to become one of the nation’s best defensive linemen
Nate Lynn’s road to Football Championship Subdivision stardom began not so much with a roadblock, but a pancake block. The hit came on the first play of the William & Mary defensive end’s first practice three years ago.
Lynn, then 17, tried to rush past Tribe center Nick Wimmer, five years his senior, by using a swim move — an arm maneuver similar to a freestyle swim stroke — to gain separation. Lynn was unaware that Wimmer had been a high school wrestling state champion notoriously difficult to escape.
“He caught me off balance and put me down,” Lynn said during William & Mary Media Day on Wednesday at Zable Stadium. “He got me, he knew it and I’m not too proud to say he got me good.
“But I got my reps back pretty soon, and I’ve been able to get consistent work against good offensive linemen ever since. I think that’s molded my play style to what it is.”
Lynn’s style is fast, relentless and devastatingly effective. Although he missed a game last year, Lynn equaled the W&M single-season school record for sacks with 12 (1.2 per game, third-most nationally) and tied for second nationally with six forced fumbles (a national high of 0.6 per game).
His 13½ tackles for loss ranked fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association, which selected Lynn as its Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. It is one of a multitude of honors for Lynn, a consensus FCS All-American.
“There is an excitement,” the 6-foot-3, 255-pound junior said of the preseason honors. “It’s always a blessing to be recognized and, for lack of a better word, validated. But you do have to take it with a grain of salt because with that comes a target.”
This time last year, Lynn was coming off of two seasons as a reserve and says he could not have imagined a season that culminated in All-American honors and recognition by Virginia Sports Information Directors as the state Defensive Player of the Year. But Tribe defensive coordinator Vincent Brown says Lynn had matured considerably from the youngster Wimmer leveled.
“He actually trimmed down from where he was his freshman year, so he showed more suddenness than he did his freshman year,” Brown said. “He got more stronger and more flexible, and all of those things, when you tie them together, make you a more complete player.”
Lynn is also much tougher, having earned his stripes in the trenches against the Tribe’s older players.
“Going against them in practice was mentally challenging, but it taught me to overcome a lot, and not to be scared,” he said. “It’s easy to be intimidated when you’re the youngest guy on the field, but you start to get a rhythm and learn what’s going on.
“Also, I had great leadership from Carl Fowler [the Tribe’s other defensive end], Zyquan Bessant [a starting tackle] and Bill Murray [who has switched from the defensive line to the offensive line in this training camp with the New England Patriots]. They helped me find my way.”
Now he leads the way.
“It’s really cool and we’re really proud of him,” Fowler says of the national recognition Lynn is receiving. “It’s clear that it’s deserved.
“At some places, the team is pretty good and that pushes guys into the national accolade realm, but outside of team success, he’s shown he’s a nationally great player.”
Who will play quarterback?
With so many starters returning, nine of them on the highly rated defense, and a No. 23 national ranking from Athlon’s preseason magazine, expectations are high at Zable Stadium. The big question is: Who will play quarterback?
The Tribe returns Hollis Mathis, the 2019 and (spring) ‘21 starter, along with (fall) ‘21 starter Darius Wilson, who guided the Tribe to a 6-5 record a year ago. But Caylin Newton, who started at QB for Tribe coach Mike London at Howard in 2017 and ‘18 (averaging more than 2,500 passing yards), is now at W&M, although he’s listed as a wide receiver following a season at Auburn.
“The great thing is we have two quarterbacks with [W&M] game experience, and they’re both battling to be No. 1 and the other the backup,” London said at Media Day. “So far, it’s been a very competitive competition.
“Caylin Newton [brother of NFL quarterback Cam Newton] is a tremendous athlete and he’s lining up at wide receiver right now and I’ll just leave it at that. But we will use any skill set that any of these players have.”
Season opener
William & Mary at Charlotte, 7 p.m. on Sept. 2 (ESPN3, 92.3FM)
