PASADENA, Calif. -- Navorro Bowman stood expressionless in

front of a wall after the Rose Bowl, desperately trying to explain his latest loss.

Defensive line coach Larry Johnson stirred the linebacker out of bed about 3 a.m. on Dec. 31 and informed Bowman his high school coach died.

Bowman didn't sleep thereafter.

"I just broke down," Bowman said.

Nick Lynch, who coached Bowman at Suitland High School, was killed in a two-car accident near his Brandywine, Md., home.

He was pronounced dead at Southern Maryland Hospital in the early hours Dec. 31.

Bowman called Lynch his "second father," leaving Penn State's leading tackler without both father figures after his dad, Hillard Bowman, died in June.

Bowman spoke to Lynch about 9 p.m. on Dec. 30, six hours before Lynch was killed, and the coach's final words to Bowman were, "Get it done."

"I've really been trying to stay to myself," Bowman said, clutching a grass-stained jersey he planned to give to Lynch. "The question why has been in my head ever since I got the news. I've been staying by myself to keep a level head and not break down too much."

Lynch's death capped a year of grief and emergence for Bowman. His father, a healthy 52-year-old who enjoyed basketball and racing drag cars, died June 16 of a blood clot that developed three weeks after surgery for a basketball injury.

"He didn't get a chance to pay for the season parking tickets, and he was going to have to pay every time he came up for the games," Bowman said during Lift for Life in July.

"That's the last conversation I had with my father, and I'll never forget that."

Bowman, whose 106 tackles led the team, set a Penn State bowl record with five tackles for loss in the Nittany Lions' 38-24 loss to USC in the Rose Bowl.

He finished with eight tackles and was the only Penn State player to sack USC quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Bowman said football has been his escape during a challenging year.

He was suspended for his involvement in a fight at the HUB-Robeson Center in October 2007 and was also charged with felony aggravated assault.

He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in May.

"Navorro's had a rough year," Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said.

"He's hung in there and become a better person.

"It's been a hard thing for him to go through."

Bowman's resiliency this season has impressed his teammates, including roommate and defensive end Aaron Maybin.

Bowman was expected to compete with linebacker Bani Gbadyu to start at outside linebacker, however his productivity limited Gbadyu's playing time.

"It's been really tough for him," Maybin said.

"But his resilience and his ability to come back and play the way he played really speaks for the type of person Navorro is."

Bowman overpowered USC guard Charles Brown on a blitz when he sacked Sanchez. His blend of speed and strength entrench Bowman as a starter at outside linebacker next season, likely opposite Sean Lee with Josh Hull in the middle.

"This year," Bowman said on the first day of 2009, "hopefully I have a better year."