Pete Carroll says he ‘messed it up’ recruiting Marshawn Lynch at USC

USC’s dynamic mid-2000s backfield featuring LenDale White and Reggie Bush was known as Thunder and Lightning.

Imagine if Marshawn Lynch were part of that mix.

Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll, who is attempting to sign Lynch to a contract extension, said Friday that he should have pursued Lynch sooner.

“I messed it up in recruiting years ago,” Carroll, who coached at USC from 2001 to 2009, said during an ESPN interview at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Lynch, from Oakland Tech High, played at California from 2004 to 2006.

He rushed for more than 100 yards 17 times -- a school record -- and was the Pacific 10 Conference offensive player of the year as a junior.

The Buffalo Bills selected Lynch 12th overall in the 2007 draft. Carroll and the Seahawks acquired him in a 2010 trade, and the powerful runner helped the Seahawks win one Super Bowl and reach another.

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