Lynch celebrates Army invite, FSU pledge

U.S. Army AA announcement tour galleryClick ARMY AA BOWL: Army All-American selection tour | Here to view this Link.

Cape Coral (Fla.) Island Coast defensive end Aaron Lynch has been waiting to officially don the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game football jersey for months. On Tuesday morning, in a ceremony held at his school, he was officially welcomed to the game and able to put on the No. 11 East jersey.

But the U.S. Army invite wasn't the only major announcement of the morning. Lynch, who had previously been committed to Notre Dame but recently decommitted, made a decision on where he will be spending his collegiate career. After official visits to a pair of in-state schools over the past two weekends, Lynch opted for Florida State over Florida.

"I'm just real happy and real excited to go play as a 'Nole in my home state," Lynch said. "I can't wait to get in the weight program and be with the coaches and players."

As for the Army game, the 6-foot-6, 266-pound defensive end knows that the honor isn't only significant for him, but also for Island Coast. Lynch is glad to put his school in the limelight on national television. He hopes that with the attention that comes from being named to the event, that it will open more doors for his younger teammates to have better opportunities down the road.

"It means a lot to me, because it means colleges will come down to my school and recruit the players and put their names out there," Lynch said.

Lynch, a Rivals100 prospect, will be one of 45 players on the East squad in the annual all-star game. He is looking forward to playing alongside some of the nation's best while competing against the best that the West squad has to offer.

"I think it's great," Lynch said. "I think it will be a great experience meeting all the players.

"I am looking forward to the competition I finally get to go against."

The four-star defensive lineman remembers watching the game in recent years, and is now looking forward to being a part of the prestigious event. He talked about what stood out to him in the past when he has tuned in to the annual event shown on NBC.

"To tell you the truth, the only time I watched it was when Noel Devine was in it and Jaylen Watkins," Lynch said. "I thought it was cool seeing how everybody got along and stuff."

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl, in its 11th year, will be in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 8 and will be nationally televised on NBC.

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