Of the 49ers’ seven selections Saturday, the fifth-round pick of South Florida outside linebacker Aaron Lynch counts as the most intriguing.

Lynch, 6-foot-6 and 244 pounds, possesses early round ability, but questions about his maturity, character and commitment sent his draft stock spiraling.

Lynch, a first-team Freshman All-American at Notre Dame in 2011, transferred to USF, sat out a year and only played two college seasons. He was reportedly kicked out of an interview with one team at the combine for lying. An NFL.com scouting report termed him a “classic underachiever … who does not play with passion and lacks urgency. Goes through the motions.”

“I am a first-round talent,” Lynch said. “(But) I’ve made some mistakes in my past and I figured that’s what hurt me a little bit.”

Lynch, who turned 21 in March, met with the 49ers in Santa Clara before the draft and had several meetings with general manager Trent Baalke during his visit. At USF, Lynch played for head coach Willie Taggart, one of Jim Harbaugh’s closest friends. Harbaugh spoke with Taggart at length before the 49ers made the pick.

“He believes that this is a good young man,” Harbaugh said. “He needs direction. He needs good structure around him where he’s got guys, men that he would look up to. That he would have a chance to emulate. Feels that he’ll thrive in that kind of environment.”

The 49ers have had nine players arrested or involved in a police investigation since January 2012, which will cause some to wonder if they’re tempting fate with Lynch. However, Baalke said Lynch didn’t have a “rap sheet” and suggested his “mistakes” largely stemmed from immaturity.

“I think you need to dig into him a little bit more,” Baalke said. “This isn’t a young man that has a rap sheet that you’re dealing with. He’s not a young man that’s been in a lot of trouble. He’s made some mistakes. He’s got to do some things differently. He understands that and we as an organization understand that.

“We have a structure here, a system here, that we feel we can help him. But ultimately it comes down to the individual, as we all know. With Aaron it will be a process, but a process that we’re comfortable he will be able to endure and flourish in.”

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Other notable comments from Harbaugh and Baalke on Lynch:

Harbaugh: “(Taggart) said he was extremely good when Willie and his staff got to South Florida (in 2013) and the structure was in place, and practiced every day. He had very good things to say, and had some good tips on what he thought would be in the best interest of the 49ers, and the best interest of Aaron, as well. So, that was very honest, very insightful and thought that this was a youngster that we could reach. That would respond. That would listen. That we could get to.

“And it’s never simple as sometimes you make it out to be. It’s not simple. It’s not, not going to be easy. But we look forward to the challenge. I look forward to the challenge. I look forward to the challenge of coaching, teaching, mentoring. And he is all about it from our conversation on the phone. Had a very nice talk with his mother, as well. And I think there’s a real chance to have a partnership there. Me on this end over here, and our coaching staff and our football players and team and from her. Aaron’s very close to his mother. You can tell they care about each other very much. He’s got a chance to be successful, we felt.”

Harbaugh on meeting Lynch during his pre-draft visit: “What I liked most about him, and what gives you a chance, is honesty. Somebody tells you the truth. If you have that then you’ve got a great basis to work from, in my opinion. We’ve all made mistakes. That’s how we get smart, by learning from our mistakes.

“I believe he’s at the point where he truly has a desire to learn from prior mistakes, and he’s a very, very young man. He’s a young guy. So, he is in the process of learning those things. And we feel like we can work with this youngster, we can teach this youngster. We feel like he’s going to be a willing listener. Again, it’s not going to be easy. But can’t wait to see him and get started on that process.”

Baalke on Lynch’s inconsistent effort: “All I do is put on the film. Could you make it an A-plus-plus highlight tape? Absolutely. Is he a guy that every time you turn on the film was playing to that level? No. Self-admitted. He would say that himself and has said that himself. What we’re hoping to do is get him to play to that level consistently and we feel we can do that.”