College GameDay Week 6 guest picker Marshawn Lynch remembers Aaron Rodgers' generosity in UC Berkley

Marshawn Lynch has been named as the College Gameday Week 6 guest picker. He spent most of his illustrious NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, but his college days were also spent on the West Coast at UC Berkley.

College GameDay will be broadcast for the first time from Berkley this weekend, as the California Golden Bears face the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes. Lynch will be on the show as the celebrity guest picker.

Earlier, Lynch had appeared on Friday's episode of "The Pat McAfee Show" to discuss his time playing with the Golden Bears. He gave thanks to another NFL great who played with him at California.

"When I came in as a freshman at Cal, I had no idea what was going on. Aron Rodgers gave me all of the opportunities, and he always had my back," Lynch said.

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Lynch was with the Golden Bears between 2004-2006. Rodgers was with Lynch in 2004, his final year before transitioned to the NFL.

Lynch admitted in the interview with McAfee that during their time together, Rodgers guided him in the plays, something he was confused with. However, Rodgers believed in the abilities of Lynch, who spent most of the 2004 season as the backup to running back J.J. Arrington.

However, when Lynch could play with Rodgers, he recorded 628 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He became a target for Rodgers' passes, recording 147 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

That season was pivotal for Lynch as it helped him develop as a player. While taking advice and working alongside one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Lynch was able to fine-tune his game to make himself a strong running back.

Marshawn Lynch responds to being the guest picker

Marshawn Lynch is the guest picker for this week's College GameDay. The event will take place on the campus of the California Golden Bears.

Upon receiving this news on Thursday, Lynch tweeted the following on X:

"YesLawd. Pull up early on ya boi at Memorial Glade… And when I say early this time, I mean hella early!!! Pit opens at 3:30 a.m., yeah, AM. Show is live at 6 a.m., so we on team no sleep, straight from yo night out, right to campus ready to get it in."

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Lynch is one of numerous legendary players who have played for the Golden Bears in the past. Now, he has the honor of representing the team and its fans on the biggest show in college football.

About the author

Ben Tredinnick is a journalist who covers college football and college basketball at Sportskeeda who is currently studying for a masters in Data Science. His degree in Psychology has helped him gain an in-depth understanding of the minds of coaches.

Ben has been involved in sports writing since 2022 and covered the NFL previously. His strengths include providing in-depth profiles of athletes and coaches, with a particular focus on development, and looking at which teams could be in the hunt for today's college stars.

Ben enjoys following college sports more than the NBA or NFL because there is more variation in terms of playstyles. The tournaments are often more competitive than the major leagues, and due to the constant turnover of players, there are rarely any "superteams" in college sports.

He prioritizes research, looks at multiple sources and publications to make sure he gets the full picture of the story before writing. He tries not to write from a one-sided perspective to allow the reader to be able to make their mind up on their own.

A Texas Longhorns fan, as well as a massive New York Giants fan, some of his favorite college players of all time are Arch Manning, Tim Tebow and Reggie Bush.

When he is not working, Ben enjoys watching films (especially Godzilla) and spending time with his cat.

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Edited by Abhimanyu Gupta