The offseason plan was to mold Jefferson into the next star rover for Orlando, but circumstances over the course of the season resulted in Jefferson moving to the "mac" position to make room for fellow speedster and junior college transfer Gary Johnson. Odd-front defenses with nickel and dime packages on the back end are en vogue across college football. The point behind that question is not that hard to grasp: Is a complex scheme necessary to give USC a winning edge, or should a simplified scheme be used in Week 1, to not load players with too many assignments, reads, or details? The arrangement wasnt ideal for anyone involved, least of all the new defensive coordinator tasked with toughening up a unit that, for seven months, was barred from standing next to each other, let alone colliding. Try a week on us. Practices under Herman and Orlando are hard. You hear about soggy eggs and burnt toast, but its the pad popping thats the real story of these daily efforts. Its going to be exciting.. Defensive coach Todd Orlando of the Texas Longhorns reacts during play against the TCU Horned Frogs in the second . In the illustration above, the play side offensive tackle will either have to handle the 4i by himself or rely on the guard for a double team. Orlando has 15 years of experience as a collegiate defensive coordinator in total, with previous stops at Florida International and Connecticut. It has been an awful showing for USCs defense, and the coaching has to be the sole reason for the blame. He said of Orlandos teaching, He has one of those play calls where its constant blitzes. Put together, bad luck and some poor choices cost Orlando his job, in no small part because the defensive line wasnt positioned for success. FAU's defense ranked 50th in the country in 2019.In 2021 FAU's defense had its up and downs, ranking 99th against the pass, 75th against the run, and 86th overall, but was in the top 50 in scoring defense. Texas blows lead against Cal State Fullerton in 6-5 loss. He also coaches the linebackers. The defense made the final stand to seal the victory, but it also gave up some big plays and surrendered 258 rushing yards to the Sun Devils. One it has practiced against every day for months. Tuli Tuipulotu, one of the stars of spring football, brings similar flexibility to the position. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) The Longhorns tried a few different alignments in the secondary, ultimately reverting back to their standard starting group while inserting tweener senior Jason Hall, a 6'2", 220-pounder with physicality and some coverage ability, into the dime role and then expanding that role beyond the robber alignment based off his particular skill set. FAU's defense . In 2019, that all fell apart. Weve got to be mindful of the stuff were doing or asking him to do. Lincoln RileyandKliff Kingsburycome from the Air Raid tree, but their systems look quite different in the same way Kansas States pro-style, option-heavy scheme varies from Oklahoma States spread. Orlando has also recently had stops at Texas (2017-2019), Houston(2015-2016), and Utah State (2013-2014). Its OKto fail, man. Drake Jackson, who spent last season as more of a strict defensive. Even for much of spring camp. The image above shows the Longhorns base look against the ever prevalent Y-Off 20 pers. Some of the stuff he was about to say, I was already thinking. After the opening weekend for USC, things looked good for the Trojans. It was during his time at Utah that he learned to assemble the 3-4 pressure package that made him an attractive hire for Herman and then a successful coach at Houston. Before joining Tom Hermans staff at Texas, Orlando was viewed as a rising defensive mind in college football. Defenses in the Leauge were getting scored on at a historic rate. LOS ANGELES It was clear for most of fall camp. We understood the reason why we were running what we were running, Roach said. A look at how Texas defenders fit in Todd Orlando's scheme Senior middle linebackerGary Johnsoncame from a junior college in 2016 where the scheme was significantly less complex. But full contact could always force further change. . By Coachlamons @nukeit1981 Dec. Theres a reason why he was let go. At Texas, Orlando oversaw a defense that improved from 80th to 24th in points allowed. This is where the separation begins.. 1 overall pick), Rudolph (3rd-round pick),Will Grier(preseason All-American) andDrew Lock(projected first-round pick). Stilleto Boy wins the Santa Anita Handicap for trainer Ed Moger Jr. Sierra Canyon girls basketball team is two wins away from perfect season, Practical Move gives trainer Tim Yakteen a win in the San Felipe Stakes, Sam Farmers crystal ball: NFL mock draft 2023 version 1.0, UCLAs freshmen living up to the hype, carry Bruins into Pac-12 title game. Its a pretty substantial change in terms of what theyre doing on defense. USC essentially ran a 4-2 front last season under former defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast. I love TO hes one of the smartest defensive minds I ever played for.. "I feel like I need to take some time for my wife, kids and grandkids while also looking to see if I can help college football on a larger scale," Patterson told Horns247. Clancy Pendergast there wasnt a lot of mystery to his defense. It is not going to be participation awards. Arizona, the Trojans opponent this weekend, had its first game canceled, so its difficult to predict what the offense will look like, but USC can probably expect a heavy dose of running back Gary Brightwell, who is stepping in to replace the departed J.J. Taylor. The Tite Front was all the rage during the 2017 season. Orlando did present Arizona State with several different looks on Saturday. LSU's Dave Aranda calls Texas' Todd Orlando a 'defensive guru;' see The diagram below illustrates the fronts usefulness versus a popular Spread play, the Power Read. The main difference here is Jackson is playing as a standup linebacker instead of lining up with his hand down like he did most of the time in 2019. In an interview posted on the schools Twitter account, Orlando promised that his USC defenses would be aggressive and attack people., I really believe that in todays game, creating negative yardage plays, attacking the quarterback, turnovers, all those things go into creating explosive plays on defense, Orlando said. Herman knew within 10 minutes of talking with Orlando hed found his defensive coordinator. Coach Orlando is a real guy, Johnson said. USC has officially found the new face of its defense. One was down and distance. USC, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Missouri each rushed 34-plus times against Texas but averaged only 4.2 yards per carry. Bastrop Cedar Creek defensive end Alfred Collins said new defensive coordinator Chris Ashs even front as a reason why he signed earlier this month. Orlando, 48, spent the last three seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Texas, where he was one of the highest paid assistants in college football. Todd Orlando Leaving Texas Tech After Less Than 2 Weeks Theyre not only making plays, but theyre trying to help other guys. But structurally, in our opinion, its still so sound.. There were times when we said the same thing together at the same moment. Even former Big 12 Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury got a head coaching job with the Cardinals on nothing more than his offensive acumen. Texas finished 7-5 and Orlando was fired as part of a staff overhaul. I just feel 3-4 didnt let us showcase our abilities the way we wanted to. After Utah State, Orlando made his way to Houston for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, where the Cougars were top 30 in scoring defense and sacks both seasons he was there. Every week is a challenge. Thats in large part due to the variance of the offensive minds. But Orlando paid Herman, a former QB coach, an even higher compliment than that. Behind them, USC has transfers like Xavion Alford and Chris Thompson, not to mention a slew of freshmen. Here is where USCs struggles against the run and its short rotation, particularly on the defensive line, tie together. For a coach to sit there and put it on himself instead of the guys that were out there not executing the game plan, it shows he cares.. - Rudolphs Cowboys managed a season-low 13 points (All-American wide receiverJames Washingtonmanaged just 32 yards in the win). It rotated just one inside linebacker (Kanai Mauga) in, and that was only for a handful of plays. Among current players, defensive end TaQuon Graham was something close to ecstatic about the potential for rushing the quarterback in Ashs defense following the Alamo Bowl win over Utah. One of those games came in a 13-10 victory over Texas. In turn, this could mean the end of the road for Orlando in Southern California regardless of who takes the job as head coach of the Trojans. Were trying to stay very consistent in terms of our message so we can get better throughout the year.. Because nobody will throw the ball on you, theyll just run it. Before arriving at Utah State in 2013, Orlando traditionally ran a four-down front. These coaches are the names to know on defense - ESPN.com That pair figures to start at the two end positions, with either Jamar Sekona or Stanley Taufoou at tackle. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Want to keep up with all the latest FAU football and recruiting news? Toughness is for naught if the player and coach relationship isnt strong enough to offset those consistent practice blows. A little has to do with the pace of the game too. Todd Orlando, defensive coordinator, Houston. Orlando walked into the interview room and saw his Aggie defensive film already on the screen. When youre giving up that many rushing yards, thats not a good thing with us, Orlando said. Every time USC football scrimmaged, there was one side of the ball that dominated much of the live periods: the defense. We try to take the philosophy of trying to make people one-dimensional, run the football on you and control the clock, because, in my opinion, there are less mistakes made on you when you turn around and hand the ball off and they can get seven or eight yards.. Orlando now resides in Los Angeles with the USC Trojans and it will be interesting to see how the PAC 12 chooses to attack the Orlando system. But when asked what separates Orlando from other defensive coaches, Herman pointed out a single aspect of Orlandos repertoire: Its just his creativity, his adaptability.. The numbers back up that decision, as Texas tied for 66th nationally with 27 sacks in 2019, down five from 2018. Hands-on coaching was limited to distanced learning. Drake Jackson will man the hybrid outside backer position again this season. Aggressive DCs like Orlando weren't having that for long, and his response is to teach his players to show a blitz to trigger the sideline glance and check from the offense before bringing another call entirely. It could afford to, considering Arizona State wasnt making it pay through the air. To me, thats recruiting. Injuries limited the two best blitzers in the secondary safeties BJ Foster and DeMarvion Overshown while the inexperienced cornerbacks also struggled with injuries and the baptism by fire in the pass-heavy conference. On Arizona States final possession, Orlando went back to the 1-4-6 look for the entire drive. Like Iowa State, Texas has a three-safety Dime package that they utilize against pass-heavy offenses (think Kingburys Tech) or in obvious pass downs where Orlando wants to drop eight and flood the zones. One question I am asking to college football experts is this: Should Todd Orlando emphasize complexity of scheme or simplicity of scheme against Jayden Daniels and the Sun Devils on Saturday? And then Jamars just played that his whole life. But it can look that way. If you go out there and you dont know what youre doing after meeting with someone for seven months, that pretty much explains how much you care, Orlando said. Aside from one spring practice, the intricacies of his scheme were installed only over Zoom. After the Sun Devils started to have success on the ground midway through the second quarter, USC started employing a 4-3 front at times. It left a big void in our defensive line, experiencewise, Pili said. Two Former NBA Players Receive Prison Sentences For Fraud Scheme. Though Todd Orlandos (DC, USC) time at Texas came to a screeching halt after the 2019 regular season, one thing is clear, the man can create pressure. #FightOn pic.twitter.com/Jorj04g0b6, Orlando will take over a talented Trojans defense that progressively declined over Pendergasts four seasons. Antonio Morales covers USC football for The Athletic. Facing an offense that averaged 45 points per game, fourth nationally, Orlando reversed one of the core principles of his defensive philosophy. But that moratorium on full-contact practice was lifted Wednesday, finally offering Orlando a long-awaited glimpse of what his USC defense is made of. Though Todd Orlando's (DC, USC) time at Texas came to a screeching halt after the 2019 regular season, one thing is clear, the man can create pressure. Todd Orlando was announced as USCs defensive coordinator Friday, ending a lengthy search for Clancy Pendergasts replacement that had dragged into its fourth week. USC's new defensive coordinator didn't waste time schooling Trojans on