"He had all kinds of jobs - water boy, ball boy," Anthony Lynn, now the running backs coach for the New York Jets, recalled in a recent interview. "He was kind of like a little mascot."

Despite a football background that included seven seasons with Denver and San Francisco and a pro coaching career starting in 2000, Lynn wanted his son to enjoy a well-rounded experience in sports as he grew up, and whichever sports he chose to pursue would be solely up to him.

The younger Lynn played golf and tennis. He developed into a fine baseball player. But when it came time to focus in on a sport, he came back to football.

"He got involved in a lot of sports," Anthony Lynn said. "I always thought his best sport was baseball. But in high school, he cleared all the others out and stuck with football because he loves it."

As a sophomore with size and speed, the 6-foot-1, 198-pound Lynn has been a steadying force in the revamped secondary of the 12th-ranked Nittany Lions. Going into Saturday's game against Northwestern, Penn State leads the Big Ten in pass defense and pass efficiency defense, ranking in the top 10 in both categories nationally.

Lynn, who said he and his father talk three or four times a week, said his father had a big influence on his choice of football.

"Almost ever since I was born, I was into football," he said. "I kind of naturally grew into it. He encouraged me to try other sports, but I worked with him to learn the ropes about football. He made me a student of the game, and a better football player."

Lynn said that hanging out with his father "definitely was cool."

"It was a blessing to grow up around football and see guys like Terrell Davis and John Elway," he said. "I got to watch those guys up close. I was always in the locker room with my dad, and my dad was friends with them, so I did get to talk to them."

Anthony Lynn won Super Bowl rings with the Broncos in 1997 and 1998 as a standout on special teams. He is in his seventh season as a running backs coach - two years each in Jacksonville, Dallas and Cleveland, and now with the Jets.

Lynn will send his father a DVD of his games to check out his performance and make comments, but the elder Lynn is careful not to step on the toes of the Penn State coaches.

"I'm just being a parent," he said. "He's well coached. They have a heck of a coaching staff. Coach [Joe] Paterno knows more football than I'll ever know. They have an excellent staff with coach [Tom] Bradley [the defensive coordinator]. I try to give him tips on preparation, not necessarily what to do."

D'Anton said, "He'll watch the tape and tell me all the mistakes I made and the good things I did, just like he does with his players."

D'Anton Lynn played safety at high school powerhouse Celina in Texas. He gave an oral commitment to Penn State, but when Brian Norwood, the Lions assistant who had recruited him, left to become defensive coordinator at Baylor, he reopened the recruiting process and considered Baylor and Texas Tech, his father's school.

But Lynn stuck with his original decision and, after a first season in which he "got pretty homesick," he adjusted.

On Saturday, Lynn and his mates in the secondary will be tested by a high-powered Northwestern offense. Quarterback Mike Kafka leads the conference in total offense and has two productive receivers - Zeke Markshausen (58 catches) and Andrew Brewer (31 receptions, 16.7-yard average).

After watching most of Penn State's games on television, Anthony Lynn will see his son in person next week - the Jets' bye week - when the Lions take on Ohio State.

"I guess growing up around me rubbed off on him a little bit," he said. "He's on an even keel, and that's what makes him a good cornerback. Nothing ever bothers him. That's good because I want him to have fun."