(Notre Dame Football Recruiting News) – Aaron Lynch, rated by some as the top performing defensive player at the Army All-American game, committed to the Irish today and will enroll as an early entry.   [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjBa-jpVJT0 width=200] Lynch was a disruptive force in the game and gives the Irish a powerful defensive end who’s a threat to break through on any play.  
Teamed with Tuitt,  Carrico and Springman  (Williams is an OLB) ND will be able to rotate four powerful long defense ends in Diaco’s defense (one that requires constant substitution.)  This was a critical recruiting need as most of ND’s top defensive ends are seniors and the Irish have all but whiffed at the position the last two years.  Lynch, Williams and Tuitt are all expected to rise dramatically in the rankings and  have many Irish fans thinking about Bradley, Fry and Browner.

USC recruit Cody Kessler may have looking into the future when he described the pressure that the East Defense (including Tuitt, Lynch and Williams) put on him,  “Their D line is just flat-out big and fast. Our line was doing their best but their speed was hard to stop. Every time I looked up there was one of those black jerseys. Lots of talent on that D line…. everyone is great.”

Aaron Lynch | DE
ESPN Grade 81 | Scout ***** | Rivals **** Top 100
Hometown:  Cape Coral, FL |  Island Coast
Height 6’5″ | Weight 250

Back to Aaron, after his all-star game performance, he’ll likely be ranked as a Manti Teo’ level recruit.

News-Press had this take on Lynch:

Aaron Lynch and the East team proved that defense doesn’t just win championships – it wins all-star games, too. Lynch, an Island Coast defensive end, led a relentless pass rush that tallied more sacks – 12 – than the West had points in East’s 13-10 win in front of a bowl-record crowd of 37,893 at the Alamodome.

“There’s not another defensive line out there better than what we had today. We had the best of the best,” Lynch said. “If we all went to the same school, that team would win the BCS championship each of the four years.” Lynch finished with 2.5 sacks on the day, which tied for the game high with Ray Drew of Thomasville, Ga. Lynch got started early, blowing by the tackle and sacking quarterback J.W. Walsh in the open field.

But his biggest moments came in the last three minutes. The East scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:14 remaining. Its defense responded by forcing the West to turn the ball over on downs with two half sacks coming from Lynch. He came up big again on the West’s last-ditch drive with another solo sack.

“I didn’t do it alone. All those linemen had at least one sack,” Lynch said. “The reason I got sacks was because of them.” The East defense held the West to just 144 yards, including minus-20 rushing due to all the sacks. The West could only muster one true positive play, a 35-yard touchdown catch by Jaxon Shipley, a Texas commit from Brownwood, Texas. “It was kind of hard to drop back and look up to make your read and there’s two guys in your face,” said West quarterback Cody Kessler, a quarterback out of Bakersfield, Calif., committed to USC.

Here’s a quick story from the Cape Coral Daily Breeze (note the leadership qualities in Lynch:)

Gators coach Joe Bowen has seen the situation play out before. He’s beginning to expect Lynch, who now is a towering 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, to be in the right place at the right time when the Gators need a spark.

With the Gators clinging to a 6-0 lead in the second quarter against Mariner, the defense converged on the quarterback, knocked the ball loose and there was Lynch to pick it up and take it in for the score.

“It was great timing,” Bowen said. “Aaron throughout the years I’ve had him, it always seems like he’s there at the right time.”

One of Lynch’s most dominant performances came in the preseason jamboree at Port Charlotte when he registered four sacks and a safety in the Gators’ 8-7 win. He sacked the quarterback six times in a game against Moore Haven last year, and returned a fumble for a touchdown in the spring game against Lakewood Ranch. Lynch has played football in the Cape Coral/North Fort Myers area for 12 years. He was a running back, at times, during his Pop Warner days, but has settled into his predominant role as a defensive end.He’s made his biggest impact by putting heat on opposing quarterbacks, registering seven sacks in five games this season.

“You have to be smart and take good angles,” Lynch said of rushing the passer. “When you do that, you can get there””Everyone looks at him to see what he’s doing,” Bowen said. “If he’s working out, the other players will follow the lead when you have guys like that.”

Here’s Scout’s take on Lynch:

Overall, Lynch has prototypical size and athleticism to play on Sundays down the road. He can chase the ball anywhere on the field, he plays with a lot of speed, he moves well laterally, and he has a lot of room to still improve his game

He is a competitor that plays with a good motor and possesses a quality first step. Lynch shows great lateral mobility. He is raw as a pass rusher relying on his athleticism, he needs to add some moves to arsenal. Lynch could easily play TE, he has outstanding hands, and could be a plus blocker.

ESPN ranks him as the 7th defensive end in the country:

Lynch is capable of being a real handful. He is a big kid with good height and bulk, but the thing that really puts a smile on your face is that he still has upside physically and as a player. He looks to have the frame to still add more.

2012	Rank	Name	Ht/Wt
	ELIT	Kiel, Gunner	6'4" - 220
	ELIT	Neal, Davonte	5'9" - 175
	HIGH	Russell, KeiVarae	6'0" - 170
	HIGH	Baratti, Nick	6'2" - 190
	HIGH	Stanley, Ronnie	6'7" - 285
	HIGH	Day, Sheldon	6'2" - 285
	HIGH	Mahone, Will	5'10" - 205
	HIGH	Ferguson, Justin	6'2" - 200
	HIGH	Harrell, Mark	6'5" - 270
	MID	Daly, Scott	6'3" - 230
	MID	Okwara, Romeo	6'4" - 225
	MID	Prosise, CJ	6'2" - 205
	LOW	Turner, John	6'2" - 200
2011	Rank	Name	Ht/Wt
Bio	ELIT	Atkinson, George	6'2"-195
Bio	ELIT	Golson, Everett	6'0" - 185
Bio	ELIT	Koyack, Ben	6'5"-225
Bio	ELIT	Lynch, Aaron	6'5" - 250
Bio	ELIT	Tuitt, Stephon	6'5"-260
Bio	ELIT	Williams, Ishaq	6'6" - 240
Bio	HIGH	Hardy, Eiler	6'1"-175
Bio	HIGH	Hegarty, Matt	6'5"-265
Bio	HIGH	Grace, Jarrett	6'2"-230
Bio	HIGH	Councell, Ben	6'4"-225
Bio	HIGH	Brindza, Kyle	6'1"-190
Bio	HIGH	Daniels, Davaris	6'2" - 180
Bio	HIGH	Hounshell, Chase	6'6" - 260
Bio	HIGH	Niklas, Troy	6'6" - 245
Bio	MID	Rabasa, Anthony	6'3"-230
Bio	MID	Springmann, Tony	6'5"-270
Bio	MID	Atkinson, Josh	6'0"-180
Bio	MID	McDaniel, Cam	5'11" - 195
Bio	MID	Martin, NIck	6'5" - 260
Bio	MID	Hanratty, Conor	6'3"-290
Bio	MID	Carrico, Brad	6'4"-250
Bio	MID	Brown, Jalen	5'11"-175
Bio	MID	Farley, Matthias	6'1"-180