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Massachusetts native Lynch a big hit with players, coaches

When freshman tight end Arthur Lynch caught two passes in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's 38-0 victory over Tennessee Tech, he entered his name on the Georgia stat sheet for the first time, but he'd long ago earned his Bulldog stripes.

As a member of Georgia's kickoff-return team, Lynch was among the players abetting Brandon Boykin as he returned 100-yard kicks against Tennessee and South Carolina. And the 6-foot-5, 250-pound native of Massachusetts has also been called upon for duty in the vicinity of the opponents' end zone.

"Artie, to get two catches, I know, was big for him," said Georgia coach Mark Richt of Lynch, who has appeared in all nine of the Bulldogs' games this season. "He's a very fine prospect and he won't be a good one - he'll be a great one.

"Arthur has done some special teams work for us and some short-yardage goal-line work for us, and to get him in there at the point of attack was nice. Two balls went to him and he caught them both and had a big smile on his face coming off the field."

Lynch, who's called Artie by his teammates (although in mimicking his accent they pronounce it "Odd-ie"), said he was glad to take worrying about catching his first college pass off his mind.

"It was nice to get in there at the end of the game and get those two catches," he said. "It was a good experience to get out of the way."

Georgia tight ends coach John Lilly pointed out that while Lynch's playing time at tight end has been limited this season, his specialized participation has paid dividends in terms of building the young player's confidence.

"He hasn't had as much opportunity as we would have liked, and I'm sure he would have liked this year, but he's come along," Lilly said. "When you talk about a guy involved in short-yardage and goal-line plays, those are really important plays and key downs. You put him in those kinds of situations where there is pressure to perform. In the kicking game, he's obviously been important to that team and they've had great success."

Rated as the No. 2 tight end prospect in the country and the top overall prospect from his home state in 2008, Lynch said he figured he'd stick closer to home to play college football, and Georgia was nowhere on his men

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