Hall of Fame Induction Video
Interview
Jordan Lynch – Northern Illinois (Football)
In two seasons as NIU’s starting quarterback, Lynch set five NCAA and 25 school records while guiding the Huskies to a 24-4 record that included the 2012 MAC Championship and historic Orange Bowl appearance, and Boneyard Wins over Iowa and Purdue en route to an undefeated regular season in 2013. Lynch never lost a true road game (12-0) or a game at Huskie Stadium (11-0) as a starter.
The consummate dual threat quarterback, he collected first team All-America honors from the Associated Press, Lindy’s and Phil Steele in 2013 as an all-purpose player, after making the AP and Phil Steele second teams as a junior. He won the MAC’s Vern Smith Leadership (MVP) Award and was named the league’s offensive player of the year in both 2012 and 2013 and his third-place finish in the 2013 Heisman Trophy voting is the best by a player from the Mid-American Conference. Lynch was also a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year, Manning Quarterback Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Senior CLASS Award and AT&T All-America Player of the Year awards as a senior.
Lynch’s spectacular 2012 campaign included 12 100-yard rushing games and nine 200-yard passing games, capped by his performance versus Kent State in the Huskies’ double overtime win in the MAC Championship game (160 yards on 36 carries, 3 TDs; 212 passing yards, 1 TD), as NIU became the first league team to earn a berth in a Bowl Championship Series (precursor to the College Football Playoff) game. The Huskies were ranked as high as 16th in the national polls. In his first season as a starter, Lynch completed 60.2 percent of his passes (237-of-394) for 3,138 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 1,185 yards on 294 carries with 19 touchdowns.
His 2012 performance and NIU’s run to the Orange Bowl vaulted the Huskies and Lynch into the national conversation that was amplified with the wins over Iowa and Purdue. NIU earned a Top 25 ranking at the beginning of October while the “Lynch for 6” Heisman campaign kicked into high gear as Lynch recorded a pair of 300-yard rushing games, 10 200-yard and one 300-yard passing game while leading NIU to an undefeated regular season. He accounted for 48 touchdowns as a senior in 2013, throwing for 2,892 yards and 24 touchdowns while rushing for 1,920 yards and 23 scores.
After leaving NIU, Lynch went on to a professional career in the Canadian Football League where he helped the Edmonton Eskimos win the 2015 Grey Cup by scoring the game-winning touchdown with 3:22 to play. Since 2018, Lynch has been head coach at his alma mater, Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, leading the Caravan to three state championships (2019, 2022, 2023).
Lynch joins former running back Michael Turner (inducted in 2018) as the only NIU student-athletes selected to the MAC Hall of Fame. Former NIU director of athletics Cary Groth (2022), athletics administrator and softball coach Dee Abrahamson (2019) and football coaches Joe Novak (2014) and Bill Mallory (2013) have also been inducted over the last 10 years.
