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Niners draft Bulls DE Aaron Lynch

 
USF third-year sophomore DE Aaron Lynch (No. 19) was taken by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
USF third-year sophomore DE Aaron Lynch (No. 19) was taken by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Published May 11, 2014

He'll head to the West Coast with questions lingering about his motor, but not his modesty.

Calling himself a "first-round talent" whose poor judgment caused his stock to drop, USF third-year sophomore DE Aaron Lynch was taken by the 49ers in the fifth round (150th overall pick) of the NFL Draft on Saturday.

The lone Bull to be drafted this year, he's the 23rd draftee in program history and second to be taken by the 49ers in as many years. QB B.J. Daniels was a Niners seventh-round pick in '13.

"I am a first-round talent being that I've made some mistakes in my past and I figured that's what hurt me a little bit," Lynch told Bay Area reporters in a conference call Saturday. "I'm just so excited that the 49ers came around and got me in the fifth round."

Invisible at times and unblockable at others in his lone season with the Bulls, Lynch (12.5 tackles for loss, team-best six sacks) entered the draft with questions about his consistency and background, but none about his freakish physical upside (6-foot-5, 249 pounds).

He said his weight fell to 240 pounds in 2012 -- when NCAA rules forced him to sit out a season after transferring -- as a result of taking prescription Adderall to "quench my eating habits."

He said he's no longer on the drug, banned by the NFL without a prescription. At USF's pro day in March, the onetime Freshman All-American at Notre Dame said he frequently had to explain his weight loss -- and why he left South Bend -- to NFL types.

A former standout at Cape Coral's Island Coast High, he told local reporters he left the Irish to be closer to his girlfriend, whom he eventually married but later divorced.

"Just most mistakes that most people my age make," said Lynch, who was invited to the NFL Combine but didn't run due to a hamstring injury.

"They weren't mistakes like robbing, things like that. But they're mistakes that weren't supposed to happen associated with football and I chose to do those things so those things hurt me in the end."

Amid the character questions, Bulls coach Willie Taggart had Lynch's back. On the NFL Network, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, whose relationship with Taggart borders on the brotherly, said Taggart vouched for Lynch.

Former Bulls coach -- and 49ers assistant -- Jim Leavitt also has a relationship with Lynch dating to the player's prep career.

"I've been waiting my whole life to be drafted," said Lynch, who projects as an outside linebacker in the Niners' 3-4 scheme.

"This is my dream and I don't know how to express how I'm feeling right now, it's just amazing. First round, seventh round, it doesn't matter. They picked me up in the fifth and I'm just so excited that somebody took the time out of their time to pick me and take a chance with me."

Immediately following the draft, two former Bulls defensive ends -- Ryne Giddins and Tevin Mims -- signed as unrestricted free agents with the Bucs and Dolphins, respectively.

Giddins' signing was confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times by his agent. Mims' deal was confirmed via Twitter by USF defensive line coach Eric Mathies.

Later Saturday night, ILB DeDe Lattimore, USF's 2013 team MVP and No. 2 all-time tackler, told the Times he had signed with the Bears.