As USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn prepares to face his former team at UCLA this weekend, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley talked Tuesday about the impact Lynn has made in his first season since making the cross-town move.
“I think he’s done everything that we would’ve asked. I think the culture defensively, within our program has really shifted in a lot of ways. I’m proud of how we progressed schematically. I’m really proud of how we progressed fundamentally, especially in Year 1, and that’ll probably make the biggest difference for us," Riley said. "I’m proud of how we responded when we haven’t had all of our weapons there. And we just kind of kept going, and we’ve played some really steady ball.
"Obviously, you can look at the statistics and, you know, see a pretty massive difference there. But I don’t think that tells the whole story. I think D’Anton’s been a really consistent leader along with our defensive staff. I think our players see that and appreciate that. And certainly, the progress is real by stats, but you can just feel the difference right now. And so, I think he’s done a tremendous job at this point.”
USC ranks 67th in total defense at 364.7 yards per game allowed, which is indeed a substantial improvement from a year ago (or any recent season) when the Trojans finished 119th in that category (432.8 YPG). Lynn's defense ranks tied for 42nd in allowing 22 points per game (which includes a couple pick-6s and other points set up directly by USC offensive turnovers) after the Trojans ranked 121st (34.4 PPG) last season.
In fact, Lynn's defense has yet to even allow 34 points in any singular game.
"I mean, I think there’s a confidence in the guys of what we’re doing, and that the calls that we make, or the schemes and techniques that we teach, are going to put ourselves in positions to make plays," Riley said. "And I think our guys have went out there pretty confident and clear-minded and confident to make ‘em. And typically, the teams that are the most clear-minded and confident, well-prepared, show up in those big situations."
Riley also talked about the recruiting impact of QBs coach Luke Huard, in the wake of the seismic QB shuffling in USC's 2025 recruiting class over the weekend with the decommitment of five-star Julian Lewis and the immediate addition of four-star commit Husan Longstreet, among other topics.
See the full video and complete transcript of Riley's comments here ...
In winter, you said with D’Anton Lynn/new staff hire that everything at USC would be done with a defensive focus first. How have you seen that come to fruition with Lynn?
“I think he’s done everything that we would’ve asked. I think the culture defensively, within our program has really shifted in a lot of ways. I’m proud of how we progressed schematically. I’m really proud of how we progressed fundamentally, especially in Year 1, and that’ll probably make the biggest difference for us. I’m proud of how we responded when we haven’t had all of our weapons there. And we just kind of kept going, and we’ve played some really steady ball.
"Obviously, you can look at the statistics and, you know, see a pretty massive difference there. But I don’t think that tells the whole story. I think D’Anton’s been a really consistent leader along with our defensive staff. I think our players see that and appreciate that. And certainly, the progress is real by stats, but you can just feel the difference right now. And so, I think he’s done a tremendous job at this point.”
Third-down numbers, impact in key moments, what does that say about Lynn’s impact on USC’s defense?
“Yeah, I mean, I think there’s a confidence in the guys of what we’re doing, and that the calls that we make, or the schemes and techniques that we teach, are going to put ourselves in positions to make plays. And I think our guys have went out there pretty confident and clear-minded and confident to make ‘em. And typically, the teams that are the most clear-minded and confident, well-prepared, show up in those big situations. And yeah, that’s been some of our biggest moments. I mean, the third-down defense, the one I was most proud of the other day in the Nebraska game, was the stop after the fumble. Getting that red-zone stop, that was a huge part of that game. So, you know, it feels like the majority of our games, we’ve shown up big in some of those moments, which has given us a chance to win every one of ‘em.”
What have you learned about Luke Huard during this process of QB recruiting?
“Um, yeah, Luke’s done a great job. It’s great to have somebody that, I think, day-in and day-out is there with that position from a recruiting standpoint, talking to all the different people. I mean, you never know how these things are going to quite evolve. And I don’t know that, kind of how some things played out recently, if that would’ve happened, maybe, without that setup. So Luke’s done a tremendous job, and it was a big key to kinda all that transpired here this week. Which is a great thing, so nah, I – he’s done a really great job with both our guys here in recruiting, and has been a big help for our program.”
What kind of impact has the flu outbreak had on the team?
(Riley coughing as the question is asked)
"That was like perfect timing. Is that a good answer? ... Yeah, it's had a little bit of an impact. It's part of it, though. Like I told the guys today, Saturday at 7:30, nobody's going to care what you had or didn't have. You got to be ready to go play the game. You've got different obstacles that come up, and you've got to go face them. We'll deal with it, adjust how we need to, but no excuses -- gotta be ready for Saturday."
Did that get worse this week?
"Umm, yeah, yeah, a little bit right now. But most of the people it's been running its course like kind of 48-72 hours, so I think we're kind of thinking today probably was the peak of it. And I think we'll get better from here."
Was Woody Marks' performance Saturday inspiring to the team or are they used to it?
"I hope they're not used to it, because it is -- it was awesome. But I do think we have come to expect it from him, which is a huge compliment to him that he can make a performance like that look fairly routine. Like I said in the presser, that's what the guy does each and every day, so I don't think anybody's been totally surprised when he does it. But he's been a warrior for this team all year."
Who is the backup quarterback?
"Miller, yeah. Miller. That was a legitimate question, I didn't mean to ... yeah, Miller."
Was it bulletin board material that DeShaun Foster said smart kids go to UCLA?
"Nah, no."
What impact does Eddie Czaplicki make?
"He's been huge all year. He's been good in every game, whether it's getting the ball off on time, operation times, obviously distance, hangtime, getting our guys in position where they can cover, he's done a nice job pinning people down when we've had the opportunity, and it's definitely affected some of our decision-making because it has been such a consistent weapon. I mean, I don't know how you could have a better year than what he's having right now. He's just been absolutely tremendous, and I would give the rest of the punt team credit with that as well. We've covered well, operations with Hank and the guys have been awesome. Hank got down there and made a couple tackles the other day. The punt team as a whole has been an elite unit the whole year."
