Goal No. 10: NEVER GIVE UP. Never, never, never.

#10 Blake Lynch

Redshirt Sophomore | 5-5 | 145 lbs. | Goddard, Kansas

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Kicker
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Second-String
• Status: Preferred Walk-On

Blake Edward Lynch (b. Dec. 22, 1996) is a walk-on kicker from Eisenhower High School in Goddard who redshirted in 2016 and did not see any game action in 2017. He enters 2018 in a three- or four-way competition for the right to replace Matthew McCrane as place kicker.

Lynch successfully converted two extra-point attempts (one each for Purple and White) in the 2018 spring game, as well as a 44-yard field goal for Purple in the fourth quarter, which was an improvement on prior misses from his competitors, Nick McLellan and Jake Roark.

He also had a pair of kickoffs averaging 53.5 yards (again, one for each team).

Lynch was rated a four-star kicker by KCKicking.com and 3.5 stars by Chris Sailer Kicking.

He lettered two years at Eisenhower under head coach Charlie Nally and made 7 of 11 field goals during his senior campaign, including a long of 51 yards, after playing soccer as a freshman and sophomore.

Lynch earned all-state honors from The Topeka Capital-Journal and The Wichita Eagle as a senior in 2014, while he was an honorable mention pick following his junior year.

“Blake is a solid young kicker,” said Chris Sailer. “He has a good leg and already makes kicks with consistency off the ground. Shows nice potential.” Here’s what KCKicking had to say:

Blake shows great work ethic and coachability. In July of 2013, he won the underclassmen Last Man Standing competition at our Wichita camp. He also almost won the Kickoff competition. He makes up for his small stature by having outstanding fundamentals and mechanics.

You know exactly what you’re getting with Blake — a kicker who will never mishit a ball, make all of the short kicks and give you a shot on the long ones. One of our most game-ready prospects!

Interesting side note: Lynch’s mother, Kim, also attended Kansas State and his sister, Tera, attempted to follow in his footsteps as the varsity kicker for Eisenhower in the fall of 2016 (she since has committed to play soccer at Washburn University):

“She is the most talented female kicker I’ve ever seen. She’d outkick 85-90 percent of kickers in Kansas,” said former K-Stater Anthony Cantele, who coaches both privately.

“She just happens to be behind the best kicker in Kansas.”