Swanson: USC’s D’Anton Lynn already making an impact, just ask Ronnie Lott
After the new USC defensive coordinator speaks at the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List luncheon, the Trojan great applauds the hire
New USC DC D’Anton Lynn speaks with journalist Bruce Feldman during the 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List Luncheon on Thursday at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, OCR/SCNG)
Mirjam Swanson (OC Register) — NEWPORT BEACH — You know who’s really happy about D’Anton Lynn taking over the defensive coordinator duties at USC?
Only the greatest defensive player in Trojans history.
On Thursday, Ronnie Lott expressed his delight at Lynn’s arrival after one head-turning season at UCLA.
At a luncheon where 42 nominees for this year’s Lott IMPACT Trophy were announced, Lott said he was pleased that USC found a coordinator with the chops to fix the Trojans’ beleaguered defense and to lead it into battle in the Big Ten.
That they hired someone to replace Alex Grinch who could give USC a shot at returning to the sort of glory that Lott knew during his Trojans tenure, when they claimed a share of the 1978 national championship and the next season went 11-0-1 and finished No. 2 in the polls.
“The reason we all show up is that there is something inside our souls that’s asking us to be a little bit better today,” Lott told a well-heeled crowd of about 100 people, board members and supporters, at the Pacific Club. “And for me, just being around the coach, I got a little bit better today.
“I think we all got a little bit better today,” Lott went on, with a chuckle. “Because we’re relieved that he really can coach.”
He really can; Lynn proved so last season.
The former Penn State cornerback, NFL assistant for nine seasons and son of former NFL player and head coach Anthony Lynn, D’Anton – pronounced, by the way, Danton (“ignore the apostrophe”) – took a UCLA defense that previously ranked No. 87 in the nation and turned it into the 11th-ranked unit.
The Bruins finished the season ranked first in rushing defense (69.6 yards per game), second in yards allowed per rush (2.33), and third in sacks per game (3.42), plus Lynn helped hone the skills of UCLA’s star defensive end Laiatu Latu, who wound up being a Lott IMPACT Trophy finalist.
They’re expecting more of the same this season at USC, though the message most often delivered from guests who swarmed Lynn on Thursday for handshakes and a few words was this: “Just don’t leave us.”
The man’s rise feels that meteoric.
To try to assuage these people, Lynn told them his wife, Courtney, a Long Beach native and Long Beach Wilson High graduate, is quite happy with the current set up: “She’s gonna make it hard to leave, trust me.”
For all of Lynn’s attributes – his NFL experience is big, scheme-wise; preparation-wise; and, definitely, navigating-college-football’s-de-facto-free-agency-wisdom-wise – Lott told me after lunch that what he really likes about Lynn has more to do with his potential, well, IMPACT.
Think in line with the defensive award’s acronym – integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community and tenacity.
“There are so many coaches who do more than teach you how to play the game of football, and that’s what he’s about,” said Lott, a four-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer turned successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist.
“And the reason he’s like that is because his dad’s all about that. So we’re very fortunate, not just to have him, but to get all the other characteristics, because … we’re trying to make sure guys graduate and they have a chance to be productive and that they have a chance to be able to see there’s a lot out there they can accomplish.”
You know what helps getting that message across?
The greatest defensive player in Trojans history stopping by.
Lott, an eight-time Pro Bowler, attended a Trojans practice this spring and offered advice and encouragement, talked about sacrifice and passed around his championship rings – possibly the world’s most glittering rendition of show-and-tell.
Lynn, wise beyond his 34 years, is of course going to leverage USC’s long legacy to try and help him put his own stamp on the program: “When Ronnie Lott comes to practice, it makes you not want to disappoint him.”
How well that goes, though, will depend on more than illustrious history and well-laid plans.
It’s going to come down to USC’s players.
Guys like Kamari Ramsey, a 6-foot sophomore safety who followed Lynn from UCLA to USC, where he’s been helping flatten the learning curve by imparting his knowledge of Lynn’s system – and where he’s already garnering preseason plaudits in the form of – yep – a place on the 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list.
(Some other candidates with Southern California connections: Santa Ana Mater Dei’s David Bailey, a junior linebacker at Stanford; Long Beach’s Tacairo Davis, a junior defensive back at Arizona; Anaheim Servite’s Mason Graham, a junior defensive tackle at Michigan; Servite’s Jacob Manu, a junior linebacker at Arizona.)
“Kamari is one of the smartest football players I’ve been able to coach, and that’s saying a lot,” Lynn told me, game to stick around and chat. “Just the way he thinks, and how fast he picked up the defense … he’s going to be a very good player.”
He’s just got to get a little better every day. And if you ask Lott, he and his teammates have the coach to help them do it.
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