From the Heisman stage to the Hall of Fame, former Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch continues to be immortalized by the sport he once mastered.
On Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, Lynch was named one of 22 new inductees (18 players, 4 coaches) to the College Football Hall of Fame class of 2026. Lynch is the third former Northern Illinois player to qualify for the College Football Hall of Fame, joining quarterback George Bork (1960-63, inducted 1999) and quarterback/halfback Tom Beck (1959-61, inducted 2004).
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Lynch suited up for the Huskies from 2009-13. After three seasons of backing up NFL Draft selection Chandler Harnish, Lynch took over the starting role and took the college football world by storm. He guided the Huskies to a 2012 MAC championship and a subsequent Orange Bowl appearance — becoming the first MAC team to earn a BCS Bowl berth. Lynch’s dual-threat abilities were well-documented by defenses that season. He threw for 3,138 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 1,815 and 19. He ranked fourth in the FBS in rushing yards and first among quarterbacks as the ultimate zone read threat.
Lynch entered the 2013 campaign with plenty of eyeballs on him after a spectacular 2012, and the quarterback didn’t disappoint. He led NIU to a 12-0 regular season record, climbing as high as No. 16 in the AP Poll. Meanwhile, Lynch was lighting up stat sheets in the process, firing for 2,892 yards and 24 touchdowns while adding 1,920 yards and 23 scores as a rusher. Lynch finished second in the FBS in rushing yardage (only trailing Boston College running back Andre Williams) and third in rushing touchdowns. During 2013, he rushed for 100+ yards in 10 of 14 games and even crossed the 300-yard threshold twice.
On Oct. 19, 2013, Lynch set an FBS record for most single-game rushing yards by a quarterback, producing 316 in a win over Central Michigan. Exactly 38 days later, Lynch shattered his own all-time record, rushing for 321 in the snow in a Tuesday night MACtion win over Western Michigan. The record was shattered in 2017 by Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate (327 yards), but Lynch still holds the second and third-place spots in the history books.
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Lynch still holds several FBS records, including most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season (1,920) and most 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback in a season (10). After becoming a walking record book in 2013, Lynch earned a spot as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York. He finished third in voting behind winner Jameis Winston and runner-up A.J. McCarron, garnering 40 first-place votes, 149 second-place votes, and 140 third-place votes for 558 total points. He remains the only MAC player to ever finish top-3 in Heisman voting.
Other accolades Lynch achieved — 2-time Vern Smith Leadership Award winner (MAC MVP), 2-time MAC Offensive Player of the Year, and 2-time Associated Press All-American as an all-purpose player (First Team in 2013, Second Team in 2012).
After college, Lynch saw a brief preseason stint as a running back for the Chicago Bears and then pursued the Canadian Football League. Lynch made history with the Edmonton Eskimos, scoring the game-winning touchdown in the 2015 Grey Cup to commence a championship celebration. He spent one more season with the Eskimos before exchanging his cleats for a coaching headset. Lynch served as an assistant for one year at NIU before taking a head coaching position at his alma mater Mount Carmel High School. The former Heisman finalist remains the head coach at the Chicago-based school, and in December, he attained his fifth overall and fourth consecutive IHSA Football State Championship.
Lynch and the other 21 members of the class of 2026 will be officially inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during the National Football Foundation Awards Dinner at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on Dec. 8, 2026. The Hall of Fame is located in downtown Atlanta, where Lynch’s accomplished career will forever be enshrined.
