D’Anton Lynn, who has ‘shifted the culture’ at USC, prepares for UCLA return

LOS ANGELES — In the winter, as Lincoln Riley extended feelers across town in a stealth attempt to pry away the defensive wunderkind who had just bested him, he delivered D’Anton Lynn several assurances.

His mentality – as he detailed to reporters in December – was that they would do everything possible to accelerate the process of making USC a great defense. That included development. That included staffing. That included practicing. Everything at USC would be done, Riley told him and told the world, with a defensive focus first.