New coach Matt Campbell (above) added one of the nation’s top young assistant coaches to his staff when he called former Nittany Lion cornerback D’Anton Lynn home to coordinate the defense, but Lynn and Terry Smith aren’t the only former players who will help lead Penn State on the field or behind the scenes this fall.

Lynn ’13 Lib, a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention selection during his college playing days, worked for the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens before assuming the defensive coordinator position at UCLA in 2023. That season, he took the Bruins from one of the worst defenses in the country to a top-11 overall unit and the nation’s top rushing defense. He spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator at USC. The Trojans had the Big Ten’s second-best red zone defense and third-down defense during the 2025 season.

Campbell also retained several lettermen who were already on staff, including former All-American linebacker Dan Connor ’07 Lib, who led the linebackers for the past two seasons after three years on staff as a defensive analyst, as an assistant linebacker coach. Connor is working alongside former Cincinnati defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt. Former quarterback and assistant quarterbacks coach Trace McSorley ’18 Bus and former cornerback Jordan Lucas ’23 Com, an assistant cornerbacks coach who led the Lions’ corners after Smith assumed the interim head coach role this past fall, remain in their respective positions.

Elsewhere in the Lasch Building, former defensive tackle Jordan Hill ’13 H&HD returns as the team’s director of life skills, and former cornerback Alan Zemaitis ’11 Com is the recruiting coordinator for personnel. Former offensive lineman DeOn’tae Pannell ’13 Lib, a teammate of Lynn’s, was added to Campbell’s staff as an assistant defensive line coach.