CLEVELAND — Throughout his football career, Freeport graduate Brendan Lynch has proven a lot of things.

A three-year starter at quarterback for the Yellowjackets, he proved he could generate offense running or throwing the ball. He threw for more than 2,600 yards, ran for more than 1,900 and accounted for 52 touchdowns.

As a sophomore at Case Western Reserve University last year, Lynch proved he could catch the ball. Converted to receiver, he led the Spartans with 31 receptions — and only played six games.

Now the engineering major has something else to prove — that he can return from major knee surgery and discover last year's form.

“Physically, Brendan is there. The knee is healthy,” Case Western coach Greg Debeljak said. “But in terms of confidence, he's struggling right now. He's still trying to overcome that mental hurdle.”

Lynch caught four passes for 24 yards in the Spartans' season-opening 31-30 loss at the University of Chicago Sept. 5. Those numbers were less than stellar in his eyes.

“I didn't play well at all,” he said. “I know I'm not where I need to be, but I believe I'll get there.

“It's hard not thinking about that injury. It happened on such a basic play. Every time I do anything on the field now, I wonder if it's going to happen again. That thought process has to leave my mind.”

Lynch tore his ACL in the sixth game of last season. He caught a pass and was running down the sideline “when it just went,” he said.

“That knee injury has been the biggest disappointment of my athletic career, by far.”

At the time of the injury, Lynch was Case Western's leading receiver. He was also a threat on kickoff returns — averaging 23.6 yards on 14 returns — and was averaging 100 yards of total offense per game. No teammate averaged more than 58.

Not bad for a guy who began his collegiate career as a cornerback. Lynch was a three-year starter in the secondary at Freeport as well.

“Generally, the biggest needs in Division III football are at cornerback and tackle,” Debeljak said. “With Brendan's size, we certainly couldn't play him at tackle.”

Lynch is listed at 5-foot-8, 185 pounds on the Spartans' roster.

“It turned out we were deeper at the corner position than we thought,” Debeljak said. “We wound up moving Brendan to receiver the same week we were prepping for our season opener.

“He wound up seeing action at the position as a true freshman despite getting no extended practice time as a receiver.”

Lynch appeared in four games his freshman year, catching eight passes for 66 yards.

He had not played receiver since the first two games of his eighth-grade season.

“Then they moved me to quarterback and I stayed there,” Lynch said. “Playing quarterback, I never had to block anybody in my life. That's been my biggest adjustment as a receiver.

“Because I was a quarterback, I know what to do as a receiver in terms of getting open, when the quarterback's going to look for me. In terms of being in the right position, knowing where to get to ... I was just beginning to feel comfortable at receiver when I got hurt.”

Case Western struggled to a 3-7 record last year. The program won 47 of 50 games from 2007-11, but has only been around .500 since.

“We're ready to begin making strides again in the PAC,” Debeljak said. “Brendan can be a big cog there. Once he returns to form, he'll be a weapon for us.”

And that's all Lynch wants to be.

“This is a great conference with a lot of good teams,” the junior said. “But if we play solid football like we're capable, we can beat people.

“I want to bounce back and be a big contributor to our resurgence. It's tough to mentally overcome what I've been through. But I'll get there.”