University of Memphis Athletics
2015 Football Roster
Oct 4 (Sat)
7 p.m.
Paxton Lynch
- Position:
- QB
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-7 / 245
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- Hometown:
- Deltona, Fla.
- HS:
- Trinity Christian Academy
- Prev School:
- Trinity Christian Academy
At Memphis: Started all 38 career games played at Memphis, stepping in as a redshirt freshman in 2013 … Choose to forego his final year of college eligibility to enter the 2016 NFL Draft … Completed 758-of-1205 career passes for 8,863 career yards and 59 touchdowns … His 8,865 career yards and 59 touchdown passes ranks second in Memphis history … Career passing percentage of 62.9 percent is also second in school history and most for a Tiger quarterback with more than one season’s worth of starts ... Also rushed 288 times for 687 career yards and 17 touchdowns … Helped Memphis to a 19-7 record over his sophomore and junior seasons and back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time since the 2007-2008 seasons … Two-time, all-conference honoree, including first team honors in 2015 … Named the team’s DeAngelo Williams Most Valuable Player during the team’s year-end banquet in both 2014 and 2015 … One of 12 finalists for the Manning Award and one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 2015 … Was also a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and the 79th Maxwell Award (2015) … Tied an NCAA record in his final home game, completing seven touchdown passes in the first half against SMU … That SMU game also saw him find seven different receivers for his seven touchdown passes.
Awards (Academic/Athletic): Selected to the 2015 All-Conference First Team and 2014 All-Conference Second Team by the American Athletic Conference coaches … Voted the Most Valuable Player of the Miami Beach Bowl after completing 24-of-46 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another 38 yards and three scores … Performance on the field five times earned American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors over his career as well as five Tennessee Sports Writers Association Offensive Player of the Week recognitions … Named a Manning Award “All Star” multiple times over his final two seasons and named the team's MVP for two straight seasons (2014 and 2015) … Named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll freshman season ... Earned Tiger 3.0 list recognition for the Fall 2012, Spring 2013 and Spring 2014 semesters.
2015 (Junior): Helped Memphis to back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time since 2007-08 with a bid to the Birmingham Bowl … First team all-conference honoree … Named the team’s DeAngelo Williams Most Valuable Player for a second straight season during the team’s year-end banquet … One of 12 finalists for the Manning Award … Was one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and the 79th Maxwell Award … Tied an NCAA record in his final home game, completing seven touchdown passes in the first half against SMU … That SMU game also saw him find seven different receivers for his seven touchdown passes … He did not play in the second half of the SMU victory, but finished 9-for-14 for 222 yards in the opening half and earned his third American Athletic Conference player of the week honor in the win … For the year, set individual passing records for passing yards (3,670) and touchdown passes (28), while completing 69 percent of his passes with just four interceptions … Finished the year ranked 11th in the NCAA in passing efficiency (157.5), 12th in completion percentage (66.8), 19th in passing TDs (28) and 16th in passing yards (3,776) and 18th in completions per game (22.77) … Helped a Memphis offense that ranked 19th in the country in total offense (486.9 yards) and 18th in passing offense (307.5 yards) … Tiger offense also ranked 11th in the country in scoring (40.2 ppg) and eighth in third down conversion percentage (48.8 percent) … The Tigers’ red zone offense ranked T-18th with an 88.9 percent success rate … Passed for over 300 yards in eight of Memphis’ first nine games in 2015, including a 447-yard performance in a road win at Tulsa and 384 yards in a win over Ole Miss … Played sparingly in the team’s season-opening win over Missouri State, going 8-for-12 in limited time … At Kansas, completed 88 percent of his passes, going 22-for-25 for 354 yards and two touchdowns … In a comeback win at Bowling Green, was 29-for-40 for 386 yards and three touchdowns … In a win over Cincinnati in the Tigers’ conference opener, was 24-for-36 for 412 yards and two TDs and added 11 rushes for 52 yards, including a long of 17 yards … At USF, was 20-for-33 for two TDs and one rushing TD in a conference road win … In a near sell-out game against #xx Ole Miss, sparked a Memphis comeback and was 39-for-53 for 384 yards and three touchdowns … Had gone five games before throwing an interception against Ole Miss in the Tigers’ win … Helped Memphis to another conference road win at Tulsa with a 32-for-44 performance for a season-high 447 yards and four touchdowns … Also added a rushing touchdown at Tulsa, his second of the season … Against Tulane, was 26-for-42 for 343 yards and one touchdown … Matched those passing completions and attempts one week later against Navy, going for 305 yards and one touchdown in Memphis’ first conference loss in their eighth game of the season … At Houston, was playing without leading receiver Anthony Miller … Went 20-for-31 for 278 yards and two touchdowns, rushing a season-high 13 times for 43 yards, which ranked second on the year … Guided Memphis on a drive at the end of the game to get within field goal range for the win, but the field goal was no good in the road loss to the eventual conference champs … At Temple, was held without a touchdown pass for the first time on the season, completing 25-of-34 passes for 156 yards … Bounced back in a big way against SMU on the Tigers’ regular season finale … Completed seven touchdown passes in the first half to seven different receivers … The seven touchdown passes tied an NCAA record … Played just the first half of the SMU game, a 63-0 Tiger win in the rain … Finished 9-for-14 with seven touchdowns and 222 yards … The seven touchdown passes broke Danny Wimprine’s school record of five (2002) against Murray State … In the Birmingham Bowl, did not have head coach Justin Fuente or offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brad Cornelson on the sidelines, but completed 16-of-37 passes for 106 yards.
2014 (Sophomore): Helped lead Memphis to its first conference title since 1971 and a double-overtime victory in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl during a season in which the Tigers posted a record 10 wins for only the second time in school history (1938 was the other) … Named the University of Memphis’ DeAngelo Williams Most Valuable Player for 2014 … For the season completed 259-of-413 passes for 3,031 yards and 22 touchdowns as a sophomore … Averaged 233.2 yards passing while completing 62.7 percent of his passes during the year … Also rushed for 321 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2014 … The 13 rushing touchdowns during the season ranks seventh all-time at Memphis … Ranked second among American Athletic Conference players and 26th in FBS Football in rushing touchdowns … All told, was responsible for 210 points which also ranked second in the American in 14th in FBS … Season passing totals ranked as some of the best in Memphis history –attempts (fourth), completions (second), yards (third) and touchdowns (tied for third) ... Established a new school record for total yards of offense with 3,352 yards breaking Martin Hankins’ mark of 3,219 yards set in 2007 ... Completed better than 70 percent of his passes in six games during the year including 74.1 percent (20-of-27) in the Tigers’ season-opening, 63-0 win over Austin Peay … First of four, 300-yard passing games came the second week of the season in the Tigers’ 42-35 loss at UCLA … Despite losing the game, earned American Athletic Conference and Tennessee Sports Writers Association Player of the Week honors after completing 27-of-41 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown against the 11th-ranked Bruins.
Over a three-week stretch to begin American Athletic Conference play, completed better than 71 percent of his passes for 861 yards and five touchdowns … Had a career-high 202.90 pass efficiency rating in conference-opening 41-14 win at Cincinnati … Completed 18-of-25 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns … Also rushed for 45 yards and had two scoring runs of 10 yards each … Answered Cincinnati’s game-opening scoring drive with a touchdown nine-yard touchdown pass to Tevin Jones, capping a seven-play, 41-yard drive in which he completed all three of his passing attempts … Helped put the Tigers out in front for good with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Henderson on a third-and-six play … Earned Player of the Week honors from the TSWA following the conference-opening victory … Helped Memphis begin a seven-game win streak to end the season with a career-high, 311-yard passing game against SMU to spark the Tigers to a 48-10 win in Dallas … Completed 17-of-23 passes (73.9 percent) in the SMU victory … Tossed a season-long, 54-yard touchdowns pass to Phil Mayhue for the Tigers’ first points against the Mustangs … Passed for 230 yards in the Tigers’ 16-13 win at Temple that got Memphis bowl eligible for the first time since 2008 … A 17-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Hayes with 3:58 to play in the first half tied the game at 10-10 … With the score tied at 13-13 with less than three minutes to play, engineered a game-winning, 66-yard scoring drive that started with a 16-yard completion to Mose Frazier from the Memphis 20 … Would complete all five pass attempts including an 11-yarder to Keiwone Malone to move the ball to the Temple 20 to help set up the game-winning field goal as time expired … Performance against USF was recognized him as an “All Star” by the Manning Award as he completed a career-best 78.3 percent of his passes … Completed 18-of-23 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns … Also ran for 44 yards and two touchdowns in the 31-20 victory over the Bulls … Hooked up with Frazier for a 42-yard touchdown pass to give Memphis a 21-10, second-quarter lead … Earned American and TSWA Player of the Week honors as the Tigers captured a conference title with a 41-10 win over UConn … Established a new career high, passing for four touchdowns in the game, completing 22-of-41 passes for 194 yards and also ran for 40 yards on nine carries … Three touchdown passes against UConn came in the first quarter, a first by a Memphis quarterback since 2008 … With the performance, established a new Memphis record for touchdowns responsible for.
NFL.com tabbed performance in 55-48 double-overtime victory against BYU in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl as one of the Top 10 of the bowl season … Completed 24-of-46 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns including an 11-yard strike to Roderick Proctor for what proved to be the game-winner in the second overtime of the Miami Beach Bowl … Also ran for three touchdowns en route to being named the game’s Most Valuable Player … Trailing 45-38 with 2:34 to play in regulation, led the Tigers on a on a game-tying touchdown drive capped by a five-yard touchdown pass to Malone with the Tigers facing fourth down-and-four … Also converted a fourth-and-seven during the drive with a 19-yard pass to Malone … Equaled an NCAA FBS bowl record with the seven touchdowns responsible for against BYU … Tied the mark set by Washington’s Keith Price against Baylor in the 2011 Alamo Bowl and equaled by West Virginia’s Geno Smith against Clemson in the 2012 Orange Bowl … Record was also tied by Central Michigan’s Cooper Rush who threw seven touchdown passes against Western Kentucky in the 2014 Bahamas Bowl.
2013 (Redshirt Freshman): Recorded just the 10th, 2000-yard passing season in program history, completing 203-of-349 passes for 2,056 yards and nine touchdowns ... Only the second freshman to pass for over 2,000 yards as Ryan Williams passed for 2,075 yards in 2010 ... The 203 pass completions ranks sixth on the Memphis season charts while the 312 passes thrown ranks eighth all-time ... In just one season becomes the 16th Memphis quarterback to pass for over 2,000 yards in a career ... Completed 58.2 percent of his passes as a redshirt freshman which ranks eighth on the season lists ... Averaged 171.3 passing yards per season ... Also ran for 127 net yards and two touchdowns ... Averaged 181.9 yards of total offense per game ... In the season opener against Duke, became the first freshman to begin a season at quarterback since Andy Whitwell opened the 1986 season as the starting quarterback against Ole Miss ... In debut against the Blue Devils completed 14-of-24 passes for 148 yards ... First touchdown pass came on a one-yard toss to tight end Alan Cross at Middle Tennessee ... Engineered a 10-play, 69-yard drive which gave the Tigers a 15-14 lead early in the fourth quarter of the Middle Tennessee game ... Completed 19-of-27 passes for 170 yards ... Completed 17-of-26 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown in the Tigers' 31-7 win over Arkansas State ... Hooked up with Cross for another short scoring strike against A-State ... Passed for a season-high 279 yards, completing 20-of-38 passes against eventual American Athletic Conference champion UCF ... With the Tigers trailing 24-17 with 1:46 to play after back-to-back UCF touchdowns, moved the Tigers down the field with completions of 19, 7 and 24 yards before a Memphis turnover ended a potential tying drive ... Completed 21-of-41 passes for 222 yards at Houston but the Tigers had to settle for five field goals in an eventual 25-15 loss ... The 41 pass attempts was a season high ... Completed a season high 26 of 36 passes for 198 yards against SMU ... Trailing 6-0 to UT Martin, scored on a six-yard run with 23 seconds to play in the first half to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead and capped an 80-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Hayes as the Tigers extended their lead en route to a 21-6 win ... Completed 15-of-22 passes for 189 yards ... Also had a season-high, 24-yard run on the same offensive series which culminated with the touchdown pass to Hayes ... Attempted just 13 passes at USF, completing six for a season-low 59 yards but ran for a season-high 51 yards on six carries ... The USF game marked the only contest with fewer than 22 pass attempts.
2012 (Freshman): Redshirted.
Trinity Christian Academy: Played quarterback at Trinity Christian Academy in Deltona, Fla. ... Missed the first half of his senior season with a knee bruise he suffered in spring practice ... Registered 2,099 career passing yards ... Threw for 237 yards and three TD in the Central Florida All-Star Game in December of 2011 ... Named the all-star game's MVP ... Helped the Eagles to a 10-2 record his junior campaign ... Passed for 1,082 yards and 10 TD in 2010 ... Threw four TD passes in the season opener against Father Lopez ... Also logged three TD passes in a 46-0 win over Lighthouse Christian ... Rushed for 407 yards on 93 carries with 16 TD in 2010 ... Registered multiple TD runs in six games ... Rushed for three scores against both Orlando Christian Prep and Lake Mary Prep ... Posted 104 yards rushing and also threw two TD in the 45-19 win over Lake Mary Prep.
Personal: Son of David and Stacie Lynch ... Brother Evin is a pitcher at Stetson … Father played basketball at Texas Wesleyan … Born Feb. 12, 1994, in San Antonio, Texas ... Sport and Leisure Management major.
