Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546159
4 0 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M M ultiplicity has been the defining defensive concept of the 2026 offseason at Penn State. Under new head coach Matt Campbell and de- fensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, the Nittany Lions will still base out of a four- man line, but Lynn wants to throw more at offenses than the speed-at-every- position approach of the previous staff. "I think it makes it tough on offensive coordinators, makes it tough on offen- sive lines. You can stem to it after the offense is already set," Lynn said in an exclusive interview with BWI. Lynn comes to Penn State having been shaped by a decade at the top level of the sport. He had stints with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Char- gers, Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens, and he's also been influenced throughout his career by his father, Anthony Lynn, a longtime NFL assistant coach who is currently in charge of the Washington Command- ers' running backs. Lynn's time with the Ravens, during which he served as safeties coach, influenced his thinking about depth charts, position flexibility and defensive multiplicity. Those ideas are baked into the foundation of both the front and the secondary. Multiplicity has a weekly dimension as well. With more tools in the toolkit, Lynn can tailor his defense to each op- ponent. That creates a potential down- side, though: How do you keep play- ers fully engaged when the game plan doesn't highlight their role that week? The answer is that Lynn's approach will bring out something else, another quality that figures to serve players well when they're looking to burnish their NFL Draft résumés. "Each week is a little bit different, but I think it's easier to keep them engaged when they see that we're trying to show- case your versatility," Lynn said. "If you have boxes that you can check, we want to make sure that you check that on film. I think that helps with their evaluation. "As an NFL coach, when you evaluate guys, you're evaluating them for your defense. A lot of times, you're like, 'We don't see them doing X and X. We're try- ing to figure out, can they do the things that we didn't see them do on tape?'" Safeties Hold The Key The defensive ends are important cogs in the versatility machine, but the position that can blur the lines most and change the picture for the quarterback is safety. In Lynn's system, that means recruiting the best athletes possible and then tailoring the scheme to fit their strengths. "It's our job to adjust off of them," he said. "[The system works best] when you have safeties who can play nickel, when you have safeties who, if you want to go dime, they can play dime, they can blitz." Penn State's current roster gives Lynn exactly that flexibility with two very different players in junior Marcus Neal Jr. and senior Zion Tracy. Tracy's versatility is in coverage. The 5-foot-11, 184-pounder has started 13 Safeties Expected To Provide Defensive Flexibility T H O M A S F R A N K CA R R | T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M Senior nickel defender Zion Tracy has impressed Penn State's new staff with his versatility this off- season. "You can do a lot of stuff with him," coordinator D'Anton Lynn said. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS