Subscribe
Follow Us
The USC football team ended up struggling this season after coming into the season as the favorite to win the Pac-12. The offense was loaded for the Trojans, but the defense just never got it going this year, and it resulted in a very disappointing season. USC ended up parting ways with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch near the end of the season, and the Trojans now have former UCLA DC D'Anton Lynn as their new DC.
D'Anton Lynn seems like a good pickup for USC football. First of all, they took them away from their crosstown rival, and that's always a good feeling. Lynn has a good track record, and so far, the Trojans seem to like what they've seen from him.
“He’s a great coach,” USC safety Bryson Shaw said, according to an article from On3. “If I do decide to come back, I’ll be really excited to work with him. In our brief conversations, really off to a great start. I really like the guy so far. He’s a great coach, very smart, and just excited to have the opportunity to get the chance to work with him. He’s got a great scheme. Stats show, numbers show, he knows what he’s doing. Smart guy, very young, been in the league and around a lot of great players. Having a coach like that on this field, and having an opportunity to work with a guy like that, it’s just great. Big opportunity for this team and just moving forward with him, a lot of good things. Future’s bright around here.”
Bryson Shaw has more eligibility left that he can use at USC, but he also might go to the NFL. It's good that he's been impressed with Lynn so far, and he isn't the only one.
“Great hire, man,” Nickelback Jaylin Smith said. “He’s a good guy. [I] had a chance to meet him. He’s a good guy. Passionate about football. I can tell he wants to win and I’m all in with him. It’s gonna be I think a good upgrade, a compliment to our athletes…I think a coach like that, that is willing to strategize and make it as easy as he can for us is always good. Having that coaching experience, going to where I want to be, is great. I can’t wait to work with him. I’m going to pick his brain a little bit and get some nuggets of how to become better. Can’t wait. Him being a DB guy, I think anything that he talks about can help us in the back end as far as making plays on the ball or being in a better position to make a play.”
Jaylin Smith will be returning to the USC football team next season. Defensive lineman Jamil Muhammad is another guy that will be back despite the opportunity to go the NFL. He is excited about the new hire.
“I was excited to meet him,” Muhammad said. “Obviously, I did my research on him as soon as I heard about it. I mean, I didn’t have to do too much research, we just got done playing them. Obviously, their defensive statistics and players they have in their defense speaks for itself. So, we’re excited to have him — me, coaches, the rest of my teammates. So we’re just excited to get to work. They were our last game, so you guys know what they can do — all year, honestly. I’m excited to learn from him and learn what he asks for from the defense.”
So far, it sounds like the USC defense is liking their new coach. There seems to be some hope surrounding that unit heading into 2024.
