Penn State has officially found its new defensive play-caller, as the program on Friday made the hiring of D'Anton Lynn official. It's a homecoming for Lynn, who appeared in 47 games across four seasons for the Nittany Lions as a player from 2008 to 2011. For the past two seasons, Lynn served as the defensive coordinator for the Big Ten-rival USC Trojans, where he proved himself one of the best defensive play-callers in the nation.
Hired by Trojans coach Lincoln Riley to help invigorate a struggling USC defense, Lynn was more than up to the task, as the Trojans defense yielded just 24.1 points per game to opponents in 2024, an improvement over the previous season when the unit gave up 34.4 points a game. Experienced in turnarounds, Lynn also revitalized UCLA's defense during his lone season with the Bruins, turning a unit that ranked just 87th in the country into a top-10 defense. In addition to his experience at the collegiate level, Lynn also possesses nine years of experience as an assistant coach in the NFL.
