Lynott Believes New Culture Will Help Buffs In 2019
June 27, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With 33 career starts to his credit, Colorado's Tim Lynott has been on the field for the beginning of a game more often than anyone else on the current Buffaloes roster.
Now the senior offensive lineman is looking forward to wrapping up his career in style as he and his teammates prepare for their first season under the direction of head coach Mel Tucker.
The Buffs received a taste of Tucker's style in their first strength and conditioning program in the early spring. They got a healthy dose of what the new coach expects in spring ball. Now there are in the midst of summer strength and conditioning, the next phase in preparation for the Aug. 1 opening of fall camp.
Lynott said it's not hard to discern what Tucker and the new staff want to see from the Buffs. Those expectations have been made perfectly clear.
 "Coach Tucker always talks about being physical, being the best-conditioned team," Lynott said after a recent workout. "That's pretty much our culture right now and you can see it in the weight room. It's harder than it has been in terms of running and lifting and all the other things combined. It's a different mentality and different culture overall. I think it's something that will definitely help us this season."
The majority of Lynott's starts at Colorado — 33 in all — have been at guard, where he first earned a starting job as a redshirt freshman in 2016. That season, he helped pave the way for a 10-4 record, a Pac-12 South title and an Alamo Bowl berth.
But a torn Achilles tendon late in 2017 set his development back. While he returned in time to put himself back in the starting lineup last season, he was never really 100 percent. He battled to regain the strength and agility he had previously, a process complicated by the wear and tear of a season.
Now he has had the benefit of an offseason to fully regain that edge, and it was an offseason that saw him spend most of spring ball playing center.
The position is by no means foreign to Lynott. He has seen time at the spot regularly throughout his college career, even starting a handful of games there.
Early in spring ball, CU O-line coach Chris Kapilovic experimented with moving Lynott to center and sophomore Colby Pursell — last year's starter at center — to guard. The Buffs liked the early results, and when Pursell was sidelined by an injury, Lynott remained at center for the rest of the spring.
It could be the place he finds himself in the fall, beginning with the Buffs' Aug. 30 season opener against Colorado State in Denver.
"I got really comfortable there," said Lynott, who is now a legit 6-foot-3, 300 pounds. "It's the most comfortable I've ever been. I feel like I had one of my better springs since I've been here. My Achilles came back and it wasn't like last fall, when it wasn't really 100 percent. I feel like my power came back. I got really comfortable there, to where I knew the plays and I was helping other guys out, trying to help them make calls. I thought I played well every practice and made steady improvement."
It is one area where Lynott's experience could prove to be invaluable. As one of the elder statesmen on the team, his role as a leader — in particular on the offensive line — will be an integral part of the Buffs development.
"Being a leader is a lot of things," Lynott said. "You have to lead by example. You have to help push guys every day. You have to know the offense, know what the coaches want and make sure we're all on the same page. The good thing about this group is that we push each other and make sure we're all doing what we need to do."
With Lynott (nine starts last season), Pursell (12), tackles Will Sherman (nine) and Frank Fillip (two) back from last season, the Buffs have a good starting point up front. They also added grad transfer tackle Arlington Hambright in the offseason (five starts at Oklahoma State), and have a host of talented if untested youngsters vying for playing time.
But fall camp will no doubt be a critical time for the development of the O-line, particularly in a new offense that is putting an increased emphasis on a balanced attack — especially with the run game. It is why the summer work the Buffs are putting in needs to be a good springboard for the fall.
'We've worked a lot together, especially on technique and stuff," Lynott said. "It's been a good opportunity for us to improve our skills, get stronger in the weight room and get in better condition. It's just a different mindset — I think everyone's working harder and putting more into it."
Tucker takes over a program that is coming off back-to-back 5-7 years, and has had just one winning season (2016) since 2005). But Tucker has also vowed not to make this a "rebuilding" effort in Boulder. He expects to win right away — and Lynott would like nothing better to wrap up his CU career with a winning senior season.
"You know it's your last season and you want to get everything out of it you possibly can," Lynott said. "It's a good mentality to have. You have to make every day count, and I think all of the seniors would like to go out on a good note."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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