D'Anton Lynn to Face His Alma Mater When USC Hosts Penn State

Lynn, USC's defensive coordinator, leads the Trojans against the Nittany Lions, for whom he played cornerback.

Former Penn State cornerback D'Anton Lynn, now the USC defensive coordinator, is pictured during a 2012 Nittany Lions game. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Penn State may be about to face its best opponent yet when it travels to Los Angeles this weekend to face USC. And as the Nittany Lions have studied film Saturday’s game, they’ve been seeing a familiar face.

D’Anton Lynn, a former Penn State cornerback from 2008 to 2011, is the Trojans’ defensive coordinator. After leading UCLA to a top-10 defense (301.5 yards allowed per game) in 2023, USC coach Lincoln Riley hired Lynn in December.

While Lynn never played for James Franklin — Lynn's four seasons coincided with Joe Paterno’s last four seasons at Penn State — his presence on the opposite sideline adds an interesting dynamic to Saturday’s newly minted Big Ten matchup. Both Lynn and Franklin acknowledged the connection, with Penn State gunning for a 6-0 start and USC looking for a bounce-back win.

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From PA to LA

Franklin said this week that he keeps tabs on Penn State players and graduates who have gone on to fulfill other roles in the football universe, whether in college or the NFL. Franklin said that he doesn’t know Lynn personally but has considered him a coach to watch for years.

“[With] the success that he had last year, obviously he's a guy that we had on our radar and have on our radar,” Franklin said. “I want to make sure I know where all the Penn State grads in the NFL and in college football are coaching, as well as Pennsylvania grads. I think that's an important piece to be aware of when you're putting your staff together.”

As a cornerback at Penn State, Lynn accumulated 162 tackles and four interceptions as a three-year starter. After college, he signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent, playing under his father, Anthony Lynn, who’s now the running backs coach for the Washington Commanders.

When his playing career ended, Lynn transitioned to coaching, starting as a defensive assistant for multiple NFL teams. Bill O’Brien, the former Penn State coach, hired Lynn as assistant secondary coach with the Houston Texans in 2017, and Lynn also spent two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. As defensive coordinator at UCLA in 2023, Lynn led one of the top units in the country before he took the same job with the Trojans. 

“[Lynn] came across town to them,” Franklin said. “[He] has done a really good job already at his time at USC changing that defensive scheme and changing that defensive identity. So this will be a challenge.”

Having beaten Lynn’s former UCLA squad 27-11 last week, Penn State had more of an opportunity to understand the schemes that Lynn deployed with before his move. The former Nittany Lion spoke to media after USC’s Wednesday practice, calling the personal connection in Saturday’s matchup “exciting.”

“I haven’t gotten a chance to see them play in person since I played there, so it’ll be cool,” Lynn said. “Two of my old teammates [defensive line coach Deion Barnes and tight ends coach Ty Howle] are on the staff. It will be cool to see them before and after the game.”

Still, Lynn emphasized that the game doesn’t carry more weight than others because of its personal ties. USC’s in the thick of its regular season schedule, just like Penn State. 

“All these games in the Big Ten are big, the weeks go by so fast,” Lynn said. “It’s just like any other week.”

RELATED: USC scouting report: The view from Los Angeles

Lynn’s defense vs. Penn State offense 

While the connection is a fun storyline, both sides are preparing for one of their top opponents of the season. And both Lynn’s defense and Penn State coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s offense present unique challenges to each other. The Trojans’ defensive coordinator had high praise for what the Nittany Lions have shown offensively in 2024.

“You really have to be on your Ps and Qs as far as communication,” Lynn said. “They have the ability to control the ball on the ground, but they have a very explosive offense as far as big plays in the air. So they’re a very tough offense to stop.”

Specifically, one of the biggest challenges for Lynn will be containing Penn State’s dynamic run game led by Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Lynn said that the running backs, along with tight end Tyler Warren and quarterback Drew Allar, are among the best players at their positions who USC will face all season.

“[Singleton and Allen] run hard, they’re downhill, but they also have the ability to score at any point in time,” Lynn said. “They make plays out of the backfield in the passing game. Anytime you have backs that can do as much as their backs do, it’s tough on a defense.”

Arguably the top strength for Lynn’s unit has been its secondary, which is holding opposing quarterbacks to 157.6 passing yards per game. His group certainly will present some challenges for Allar, but Lynn has seen just as much difficulty in preparing for Penn State’s third-year quarterback, who ranks fifth in FBS in passing efficiency (187.56).

“He definitely has the strongest arm of anyone we’ve played so far,” Lynn said. “He throws the ball really well, especially down the middle of the field. And for a bigger guy, he does a really good job extending plays in the pocket.”

Penn State will face USC at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS.

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Daniel Mader, a May 2024 graduate of Penn State, is an Editorial Intern with The Sporting News. As a student journalist with The Daily Collegian, he served as a sports editor and covered Nittany Lions women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and more. He has also covered Penn State football for NBC Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with additional work in the Centre Daily Times, Lancaster Online and more. Follow him on X @DanielMader_    or Instagram @dmadersports.