He was also inheriting a schedule that included Sam Darnold and USC, Jesse Ertz and Kansas State, Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma, Mason Rudolph and Oklahoma State, Kenny Hill and TCU, Will Grier and West Virginia and ultimately Drew Lock and Missouri -- essentially, some of the cream of the crop in terms of modern spread offense and spread quarterbacking. There has been a critical error on this website. None of that stuff. The result was a defense that failed to take advantage of the pass-rushing talent of players like Graham, Ossai, and Roach because once the scheme that Orlando spent the offseason developing was no longer effective, its extremely difficult to make those changes once the season begins. That much was clear on Saturday, and its why losing a player like Tufele, who possesses all three traits, hurt so much. A little has to do with the pace of the game too. Saban has finally embraced the change as well, throwing the ball more than he ever has before with Tua Tagovailoa. The Panthers defensive ranked 11th in scoring defense that season. Herman starts most practices with a variation of the circle drill (essentially a one-on-one meeting in a small space that Herman calls out one by one) to ramp up the energy. You have pass rushers out there, TaQuon Graham, Marqez Bimage, Joe Ossai guys that can get after the quarterback. USC's new defensive coordinator didn't waste time schooling Trojans on new scheme New USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando didn't let the COVID-19 shutdown stop him from familiarizing the Trojans to his defense. The following offseason after Houstons Peach Bowl victory over FSU, Orlandos alma mater, Wisconsin, offered him its defensive coordinator role when Aranda left for LSU. Since L.T. Todd Orlando looks to bring more physicality to USC's defense this year. Youre in this area and theres some really good high school players in this area, the top guys. perspective, he's found Orlando to be a gem of an assistant for a variety of reasons. But Orlando paid Herman, a former QB coach, an even higher compliment than that. There are a lot of questions about how the Trojans offensive line will perform, but having Brett Neilon at center and Alijah Vera-Tucker at left tackle should help. Though it did prove to be the origin of one of college footballs best coordinator-head coach relationships. He spent just two weeks as an assistant in Lubbock, before Helton and USC came calling. Theyre not only making plays, but theyre trying to help other guys. With his ability to teach fundamentals to raw athletes, train and equip defenders to attack offenses with disguise and pressure and adapt his tactics around the strengths of his roster, Orlando is proving to be a cutting-edge coordinator. The SEC used to be one of the sole holdouts with only a few teams, namely Ole Miss and Texas A&M, embracing the shift. One thing to not overlook is the away side 4i who has leverage on the away side tackle. Orlando said hes already adjusted his scheme, which relies on mixed fronts and aggressive blitzing, to fit USCs personnel. Rigid positional structures are giving way to a more fluid style of play. Todd Orlando remembers feeling bad for Tom Herman. Two things generally forced USC to shift out of its base defense. With Gary Anderson and Dave Aranda's exit to Wisconsin in 2012, the door opened for then Offensive Coordinator Matt Wells to ascend to the Head Coaching position. Herman knew within 10 minutes of talking with Orlando hed found his defensive coordinator. Orlando's rover is typically one of the team leaders in sacks as a result of this strategy. This is something, until this year, fathomable only on a 3rd and Long or an end of a half situation in the NFL. I just feel 3-4 didnt let us showcase our abilities the way we wanted to. However, Willie Taggart and his staff still need to find ready-to-play talent in the secondary as FAU loses four of their top five snap getters from 2021. The timing between Daniels and his receivers was off all game. Orlando's 3-4/quarters defense had to be tweaked and altered to fit the 2017 Texas football roster and the demands of playing against Big 12 offenses, but in the process Orlando simply proved what makes him one of the top defensive coaches in the country: In particular, his effective teaching, aggressive philosophy and high capacity for adaptation. 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. Todd Orlando sees USC defense as work in progress USC defense showed positive signs in opening win over ASU Coach Todd Orlando of the USC Trojans during USC football practice at the. Imagine if this actually happens. Orlando, despite his concessions against the pass, said the beauty of the lighting package is Texas numbers up front still cover up against the run. Todd Orlando (born March 24, 1971) is an American football coach. Is USC defense ready to take a leap in Year 2, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). And then Jamars just played that his whole life. The "mac" or middle linebacker helps call the defense and serves as the "first responder" for the defense against the run, looking to plug gaps and spill blocks to the outside linebackers (or nickel and dime defenders as the case may be) and his partner the "rover" linebacker. But after successfully rebuilding the Texas defense in his first season, the Longhorns experienced a sharp defensive downturn in 2019. Drake Jackson, who spent last season as more of a strict defensive end, shed 25 pounds and shifted into a hybrid linebacker role. The Trojans considered other candidates before settling on Orlando, even getting as far as discussing the parameters of a potential contract with Rams linebackers coach Joe Barry. Practice your tail off and youre going to be playing on Saturdays. The Trojans didnt do it for every third-and-7 and longer, but in most of those obvious pass situations, Orlando employed a 1-4-6 look. This "lightning" package was built off a "robber coverage" and an alignment that looked like this: Basically, the Longhorns traded a man up front for the ability to play Cover 2 to either side of the formation with a "robber" in the middle who could read the play and then serve either as inside help against the dreaded double-post combinations that Oklahoma State liked to run or as an extra man coming just a touch late in the run game. Orlando has always been multiple, but it seemed like in the end there was just too much going on which was evident by Head Coach Tom Hermans decision to go with Chris Ash as the DC who is known for a simpler style reflecting Ohio State (with more of a Quarters base). Senior middle linebackerGary Johnsoncame from a junior college in 2016 where the scheme was significantly less complex. A Michigan native and University of Michigan graduate, Kartje previously wrote for Fox Sports Wisconsin and the Bloomington (Ind.) The Big 12 is not new to the concept of smaller faster players playing on the defensive side of the ball. Having a base, four-man pass-rush is less valuable for attacking any of those schemes, so Orlando determined that it was a worthy trade to give up a pass rusher up front in exchange for more coverage and blitz flexibility and disguise potential while also gaining a "free hitter" in the form of the robber. The Longhorns sessions reflect that. Once at Texas, though, Orlando was inheriting a defense with great athletes but disparate pieces that hadn't been put together into a cohesive unit. Texas blows lead against Cal State Fullerton in 6-5 loss. Orlandos scheme isnt complicated at least by memorization standards. His defense consequently has two main types of base pass rush, one in which the B-backer works off the edge like in a normal 3-4 defense and another in which the B-backer drops into coverage while the rover blitzes suddenly through the interior. Arizona State realized that early, and its two main running backs, DeaMonte Trayanum and Rachaad White, rushed 24 times for 160 yards against USC. Just the traditional tailback running game, if youre not doing good you have no chance of playing elite defense. On several occasions, the Trojans walked a safety up into the box, mainly Talanoa Hufanga, in order to have seven players near the line of scrimmage for run support. Los Angeles Times USC beat writer Ryan Kartje offered this extended answer: Its important to remind everyone listening that I havent actually seen Todd Orlandos defense other than one practice during the spring Weve seen it all over the country that these offenses are running roughshod over defenses. Safeties Talanoa Hufanga and Isaiah Pola-Mao are expected to take on more active roles in directing the defense. Schemes aside, Orlandos defense is built on one thing above all his players flying to the ball. 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. Theyre helping us as a coaching staff and that stuff, you cant put a price on those things.. In reality, Texas players say their responsibilities change little from week to week. If you practice soft, youre going to play soft, Orlando said. Pac-12 reporter and columnist Jon Wilner, on the first episode of our USC Trojans: Wired Podcast, responded to those questions as follows: The two units that require the highest level of cohesiveness take quarterback out are the offensive line and the secondary. Since then, the USC defense has been getting torched time and time again, with their worst performance arguably against Oregon State as the Beavers ran for over 300 yards to upset them in Los Angeles. Before that, his inaugural Utah State defense ranked seventh in points allowed. Through it all, Orlandos stayed on Hermans staff. groupings are being countered by many defenses basing out of a Nickel defense. The deepest position on the USC defense is safety. I feel the 4-3 will help those guys to show their talents and more people will come out of Texas.. We just had to learn to embrace it, and now we look forward to it.. When interim defensive coordinator Craig Naivar finally allowed Ossai to play that role, Ossai produced three of his five sacks in the Alamo Bowl. "We are excited to have. The Trojans run defense would be better with defensive lineman Jay Tufele, who opted out of the season a few months ago and entered the NFL Draft. https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/2020/11/06/todd-orlando-vs-arizona-state-a-central-pregame-question-for-usc/. Eventual Florida defensive end signee Princely Umanmielen cited the three-man front as one of the reasons why he decommitted from Texas back in October. Every time USC football scrimmaged, there was one side of the ball that dominated much of the live periods: the defense. Texas goal is to play fast on defense, forcing opposing QB to play slow. LOS ANGELES USCs season-opening 28-27 win over Arizona State offered a glimpse of what first-year defensive coordinator Todd Orlandos defense will look like. The Longhorns were putrid in 2015 and 2016, allowing the third- and sixth-most rushing yards in school history. Orlando, 47, is considered a rising head coaching candidate, and his contract reflects that. Its not likely to last forever. For most of training camp, Jackson was limited by a hamstring issue, which caused some worry for Orlando, who thought the lack of reps might impact the edge rushers tackling. When Tom Herman hired Todd Orlando to be his defensive coordinator at the University of Houston, Herman was looking for a coach who could teach the kind of defense that always gave him fits. (213) 740-4204. The Times first reported his hiring Monday. Orlando walked into the interview room and saw his Aggie defensive film already on the screen. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. It makes a QB think, said Texas senior defensive endCharles Omenihu. By Coachlamons @nukeit1981 Dec. But it can look that way. Is USC defense ready to take a leap in Year 2 under Todd Orlando? He beats the tackle clean, forces the throw fast and its an incomplete. Orlando has a long coaching career with multiple stops across the country. USC had problems getting aligned on Saturday, and one of its alignment busts led to an Arizona State touchdown in the second quarter. His defensive system poses an extreme challenge to offenses., You cant practice soft and play hard.New DC Todd Orlando is looking to up the physicality on the USC practice field. Herman isnt shy about issuing compliments to his defensive lieutenant. The notion that the Big 12 doesnt play defense is false. As defensive coordinator at Houston in 2015 and 2016, he oversaw a defense that finished 20th and 13th in the nation in yards allowed. Mason Rudolph, a third-round pick of the Steelers, failed to clear the 300-yard mark only twice in 2017. Orlando, 50, previously was a defensive coordinator at Texas Houston, Utah State . Then the injuries and attrition reduced depth at linebacker while inexperienced players tried to fill in, resulting in Orlando moving his best natural pass rusher, B-backer Joseph Ossai, to multiple positions around the field that kept him from attacking downhill. Weve changed that.. Cody Alexander. I do think that is the gambit this season with the defense: You have to risk the fact that while there may be some miscommunications, and maybe its getting a little too complicated, also that complication is what could give this defense a leg up from past defenses USC has fielded. It's only once that information is digested when a defender will hear how his role factors into the overall play call. It also gives him the ability to put players in situations to take advantage of deficiencies within an offensive scheme or weaker/slower players. 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. 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. Now they brought in a new staff, giving those guys the opportunity to rush the passer and show what they have.. Gone were the experienced players in the secondary who could force the quarterback to hold the ball for an extra second or two. And sometimes they went with a 3-4 look with its normal defensive line (Figueroa, Marlon Tuipulotu and Caleb Tremblay) and Jackson and Hunter Echols as outside linebackers. Their rotation would be a bit deeper, too. After leaving FIU, Orlando went north to coach Utah State, where their defense ranked 7th and 12th in scoring defense during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, respectively. The defensive line lost more bodies in the offseason when Jacob Lichtenstein opted out of the season, and it was announced that Trevor Trouts season (and possibly his career) would be over with a back injury. 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. Defensive Coordinator & Linebackers. #FightOn pic.twitter.com/Jorj04g0b6, Orlando will take over a talented Trojans defense that progressively declined over Pendergasts four seasons. One of the areas in which Orlando has excelled as a teacher is in the art of disguising pressures and dictating to opponents with stop calls. He brings a passion, energy, toughness and discipline to his coaching, Helton said, and those characteristics were evident in our discussions. USC essentially ran a 4-2 front last season under former defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast. Thats not to say those seven months were for naught. Innovation comes from desperation, and in the offensive gauntlet that is the Big 12, it has created an evolutionary playground for defensive (and offensive) football. Because nobody will throw the ball on you, theyll just run it. The Aggies also ranked fourth in the country in sacks in 2014 with 50. The Tite Front was all the rage during the 2017 season. Theres a little learning curve for him just the speed of the game and all that, but then Stanley also being very new to the position has his own learning curve.. 9 Texas hosts No. This might be the most talented position group on the USC roster, but there are still some concerns. He's previously covered his alma mater SMU and the WNBA for the Dallas Morning News and high school sports for the Long Beach Press-Telegram.