Tag: D’Anton Lynn

UCLA is feeling the loss of D’Anton Lynn more than Chip Kelly leaving

According to Matt Wadleigh of UCLAWire.com, losing Chip Kelly hurts, but loss defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn hurts more.

The UCLA athletic department was in quite a quandary when Chip Kelly up and left the Bruins. Now having a head coach leave isn’t out of the norm, but Kelly left for Ohio State for the offensive coordinator position.

The ones in charge were left in a lurch, but they also had to replace another key coaching spot within the football program and that was defensive coordinator.

D’Anton Lynn transformed the Bruins defense into one of the best of the country. If Kelly could have replicated Oregon’s offensive success, UCLA would have competed for a conference title or perhaps more.

Not only did Lynn leave, but he left for the cross-town rival USC Trojans, which made it sting even worse. UCLA replaced Kelly and Lynn with DeShaun Foster, a first-time head coach, and Ikaika Malloe, respectively. So far. the returns have been very little.

According to Matt Wadleigh of UCLAWire.com, losing Lynn was a much bigger blow than losing Kelly.

“The writing was on the wall for Chip Kelly to leave, and there were rumblings that he wanted to go back to being a playcaller, so it wasn’t too surprising,” Wadleigh said. “But Lynn leaving for a division rival in the same city with the sale role was a shocker in all aspects.

“At the end of the day, money talks and Lynn must have sensed changes were coming and instead moved to a Top 25 program not entering a rebuild. Smart move all around.”

UCLA is going to find it difficult to find two or even three wins on the remaining schedule and it doesn’t let up, beginning with Oregon on Saturday night.

Previewing the UCLA Bruins defense ahead of Week 5 game vs. Oregon Ducks

UCLA’s strength is the defense, but it needs some help from the offense to stay off the field and not wear down late in games.

The demise of the UCLA defense without their former coordinator D’Anton Lynn seems to have been premature.

While the offense is still struggling to move the ball down the field consistently, the defense is still keeping teams off the scoreboard as best it can.

Indiana had their way with UCLA in both teams’ Big Ten opener ans there was a little lapse at LSU where the Bayou Bengals put up 34 on the board. But that was on the road in SEC country and for the most part, UCLA did a good job. That game was tied 17-17 in the second half.

Coupled with the hot and humid weather plus being on the field way too long, the Bruins’ defense wore down. That seems to be a theme. The offense

isn’t exactly helping out and by the time the second half rolls around, the defense has had enough.

That might be the game plan for the Oregon Ducks as they head down to the Rose Bowl Saturday night to face the 1-2 UCLA team.

It won’t be that easy, however. The Ducks are coming off a bye, and the Bruins feel a little better about themselves despite losing to LSU.

Linebacker Kain Medrano leads the way for the Bruins with his 21 tackles, for for loss and a forced fumble. He’s done is all for UCLA so far and Medrano is one defender to look out for, according to Duck head coach Dan Lanning.

“When he pulls the trigger, he ends up in the backfield quickly. He’s got a good stop-and-go,” Lanning said. “He’s a knock-back tackler. So he’s, you know, he’s able to get guys on the ground when he shows up in special teams. It’s kind of like the kind of guy when he plays with his hair on fire when he’s on the field.”

UCLA has a familiar face in Bryan Addison, a former Duck that transferred out. He already has 14 tackles and a fumble recovery. Lanning says there has been a lot of changes on both sides that playing against Addison or tight end Moliki Matavao shouldn’t have any effect on the outcome.

“It’s been a while since either one of those guys were with us and there’s a new coaching staff and some changes on both sides,” Lanning said. “So certainly, there are some advantages on the same note, you know, I think there’s a lot that’s different. You look at both these teams, you know, both of us, I would call, you know, Game Plan teams.

“We play differently based on the opponent we’re playing each week. So you’ll see some different wrinkles, probably from their side as well as our side. So I don’t know how much that’ll carry over.”

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D’Anton Lynn discusses Alex Orji and Michigan’s offense before Saturday’s game

D’Anton Lynn is not going to focus too much on Michigan’s game plan, instead emphasizing USC’s own defensive principles.

The USC defense has been strong in the early weeks of the 2024 college football season. Now comes a trip to Ann Arbor to face Michigan. D’Anton Lynn was asked about the Michigan offense. Wolverines Wire took note of what Lynn said. Here’s an excerpt on Alex Orji and what to expect from the new Michigan starting quarterback:

So far, when he’s played the games, he’s just had a package, so that’s probably why he hasn’t thrown as much. Now that he’s going to be the starter, you have to prepare for that package, but you also have to prepare for their offense. So it just makes it makes more that they can do.

Lynn added that “you have no idea what they’re gonna do, what they’re gonna game plan. At the end of the day, play our roles and play our style.”

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Jaylin Smith identity as USC Swiss Army knife will be tested

Jaylin Smith could be front and center in the back line against LSU.

Jaylin Smith, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior out of Bishop Alemany High School in California, is the “Swiss Army Knife” in D’Anton Lynn’s USC defense because of his versatility. Lincoln Riley had this to say about Smith’s role on the team in his weekly meeting with the media:

He’s a piece that gives us some versatility. We’ve worked him at some different positions throughout camp and spring [and] feel like he’s got the ability to to help us at different places. Certainly it’s been his emergence at corner I think has been a really positive thing for us so far, but I think he’s one of the pieces and we have a few in the secondary right now that we feel like give us some options. So I would imagine that you’ll see him all over the place at various times throughout the year.

He has shown that he can play every position in the secondary: he can play nickelback along with both corner and safety positions. The depth chart for Sunday’s matchup against the LSU Tigers came out his week and he was listed as a starting cornerback. The coverage and run stopping skills he honed in the safety room will make him a physical corner.  Players like Smith bring skill and depth to the 2024 Trojan secondary, which appears to be a strength on the team.

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Who did more to improve their defense in the offseason – LSU or USC?

USC and LSU try to go from confusion to competence on defense after brutal 2023 seasons.

On the Conquest Call-In Show at the USC Voice of College Football, a caller asked which defense has improved more in the offseason between USC and LSU.  Both schools saw their defenses reach historic lows statistically in 2023 under Alex Grinch and Matt House respectively. Those two coordinators had absolutely no idea how to unlock the talent and potential of their players on the defensive side of the ball. There was confusion about the scheme and where to line up. Coaches were not playing the right players and putting them in position to succeed. USC and LSU were dogged by the same sets of problems with the same overall dynamics involved.

In the offseason USC hired D’Anton Lynn, the architect who took a UCLA defense that ranked among the worst in college football in 2022 and transformed the Bruins into a top 15 defense in the country in one year.  LSU also found a replacement for House in Blake Baker, whose defense helped the Missouri Tigers to a top 10 national ranking in 2023, capped by a win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

Check out our response to the caller’s question. Our answer deals with the coaching and roster additions USC made in the offseason at the 23:48 mark of the show (link below is cued up to the discussion).

https://www.youtube.com/live/rSRtU-FD4fQ?si=xQPwgA8mAkZaIuMj&t=1428

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Can USC secondary hold up if Trojans load the box versus LSU?

USC’s secondary being strong can enable the linebackers to focus more on run support versus LSU.

Adam, one of our callers on the Conquest Call-In Show at the USC Voice of College Football, called in and asked if USC’s secondary can hold up against LSU. More precisely, can this USC secondary hold up in the man coverage that might be needed on the back end if the Trojans’ defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn commits seven or eight guys in the tackle box to stop the run.  LSU’s All-America offensive tackle Will Campbell has been on record saying the Tigers want to run the ball on the Trojans.

We talked about the fact that LSU is one of the select few teams, like USC and Ohio State, that have elite wide receivers year in and year out. They lost Malik Nabors and Brian Thomas in the first round of the NFL draft this year, but Kyren Lacy looks to be the next standout Tiger wide receiver. USC’s secondary has to be able to thrive in one-on-one matchups on the perimeter so that the linebackers and defensive front can commit to stopping the run and giving the Trojans a balanced, positionally sound defense.

https://www.youtube.com/live/rSRtU-FD4fQ?si=_Dr2TidIpLvHptLK&t=509

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Kamari Ramsey takes leading role on USC’s defense, teaching D’Anton Lynn’s scheme

Kamari Ramsey can become a difference-making player for USC, given his knowledge of the D’Anton Lynn system.

USC safety Kamari Ramsey joined Adam Breneman on a new episode of “Next Up.” Ramsey transferred to USC in the spring of 2024 from UCLA. Last season, he played for USC’s newly appointed defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn. Ramsey recorded 40 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, 5 pass breakups and 1 interception while starting in all 11 games he appeared in during the 2023 season.

USC has to hope that with multiple UCLA players on the USC defense this year, the process of teaching players will become a lot smoother. Ramsey and John Humphrey can share knowledge of Lynn’s system with their teammates and help the Trojans absorb knowledge more fully. This could lead to a big jump in defensive performance, which is a central key for the Men of Troy if they want to produce a successful season.

In this exclusive interview, Kamari Ramsey discusses his decision to transfer from UCLA to USC and how the adjustment has been so far. Kamari also sheds some light on what D’Anton Lynn’s defensive scheme will look like in 2024, embracing a leadership role for the Trojans on the field, and much more.

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What does D’Anton Lynn look for in a USC football recruit?

D’Anton Lynn is trying to make the various components fit at USC.

New USC football defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn recently sat down with Adam Breneman in a wide-ranging interview which touched on a lot of different topics. One point of interest in the conversation was what Lynn looks for in a recruit.

USC football recruiting is showing signs of improving, particularly for the 2026 class. The 2025 has had its share of hits and misses. The 2024 team has some talent among its starters, but depth could be a significant concern if the Trojans are hit hard by attrition and need to go further down their depth chart this season.

Lynn’s UCLA defense last season was tough and sturdy against the run, but the Bruins were also quick to the ball and did not look slow against Pac-12 offenses. UCLA smothered Utah in Salt Lake City. The Bruins didn’t win the game because their offense scored exactly one time, but Lynn’s defense kept the Utes under wraps, a marked contrast to what Bryson Barnes and Utah did against Alex Grinch and USC.

Here’s the full interview with Breneman:

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Trojans Wire discusses the “pinnacle” of USC’s success under Lincoln Riley

It has been a true roller-coaster ride in two seasons under Lincoln Riley.

We discussed the roller-coaster ride that USC Trojan fans have been on since the nadir at the end of the Clay Helton regime. We then pivoted to the excitement of the 2022 11-win season which carried USC to the Pac-12 Championship Game and within a few quarters of the College Football Playoff, only to come up short and then lose the Cotton Bowl to Tulane. We talked about the frustrations of the 2023 season and all its failures, and then moved to our current anticipation of the new USC defense heading into Lincoln Riley’s third season as the Trojans enter their first year in the Big Ten.

USC was unexpectedly strong in Year 1 under Lincoln Riley. USC was unexpectedly weak in Year 2 under Riley. One year was a study in overachievement, the next year a classic case of underachieving. What will Year 3 bring, as USC faces a crossroads moment in a new conference with one of the nation’s toughest college football schedules? Get more from our discussion on our USC show at The Voice of College Football:

https://www.youtube.com/live/ec1FoKT_GXo?si=pq4xkmu6fY8L379M&t=2670

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Trojans Wire talks about commitment from elite 2026 Georgia linebacker

Let’s talk more about Xavier Griffin.

It has not been a boring week for USC football, that’s for sure. We have seen the Trojans flip a prospect from Georgia and lose a prospect who was flipped by Georgia. We have seen some commitments. We have seen a JUCO offensive lineman sign with USC. We have seen a lot. USC is just about to begin preseason camp, and the offseason is about to recede into the past in a very real way. We’re about to talk about on-field football developments for each of the next five months. It really is that time of year; we made it. Xavier Griffin has also made it to USC.

At 1:24 of our recent show at The Voice of College Football, Trojans Wire discusses concerns and impact that surround the new commitment from Georgia, Xavier Griffin. We discuss the coach Henny (Eric Henderson) effect and the impact of D’Anton Lynn’s defense on the field for current and future USC football recruits.

https://www.youtube.com/live/ec1FoKT_GXo?si=T1uoNtEb-p02ylsz&t=102

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