They handled the defending Mountain West champion San Jose State Spartans with ease. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Todd Orlando seems very confident that the extra time they were afforded to work on film, to work on installing that scheme, really did help them. Put together, bad luck and some poor choices cost Orlando his job, in no small part because the defensive line wasnt positioned for success. Even for much of spring camp. groupings are being countered by many defenses basing out of a Nickel defense. 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. Pola-Mao returns and has been a stud in camp, causing chaos in blitzing situations and making plays on the ball in pass coverage that he has not made in the past. Todd Orlando was announced as USC's defensive coordinator Friday, ending a lengthy search for Clancy Pendergast 's replacement that had dragged into its fourth week. 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. Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress. Thanks to some help from the Cyclones and Mountaineers, the Longhorns trashed the Jayhawks to land the No. Thats where our emphasis is going to be this week.. looks seen in many Power Spread offenses. The use of small ball to counteract the space created by Spread offenses is understandable. Thinking about becoming a VIP subscriber to Owls247? He wants his defenders to fly to the football. As defensive coordinator at Houston in 2015 and 2016, he oversaw a defense that finished 20th and 13th in the nation in yards allowed. Gone were the inside linebackers who were so effective as blitzers. Stanley, he has natural mobility. 16.2ASU19.6Washington21.8Oregon23.0Utah23.2OSU23.8Colorado24.8WSU26.5UCLA27.0Stanford27.3USC27.6Cal31.6Arizona, SportsPac12 (@SportsPac12) October 10, 2021. Take a look at those QBs 2017 season, youd see their matchup with Texas as a low-end outlier amid exceptional overall campaigns. This is something, until this year, fathomable only on a 3rd and Long or an end of a half situation in the NFL. Thats important to me. Safeties coach Craig Naivar, whos been working with Orlando since 2015, described the defense with that exact word a few weeks ago. Snow, at his fifth FBS post as defensive coordinator, has evolved his scheme to become more multiple and detailed. He brings a passion, energy, toughness and discipline to his coaching, Helton said, and those characteristics were evident in our discussions. 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. Nearly every defensive coordinator will say theyre multiple in the various looks theyll give an offense. I love TO hes one of the smartest defensive minds I ever played for.. So in addition to having a blitz package, Orlando teaches his rover how to disguise insert blitzes through the A and B gaps. USC defense has different feel in camp after full offseason Due to the pandemic, USC was unable to implement new defensive coordinator Todd Orlando's scheme in person before the 2020 season, so players were learning on the fly as they prepared for the delayed season. During his time as defensive coordinator at Texas, his defense forced 65 turnovers and ranked in the top 10 nationally for . Georgia and Texas used the front and similar coverage schemes as a base, with both finding themselves in BCfToys.coms top 10 in Defensive Efficiency (adjusted for the strength of opponent offenses faced UGA was #5 and Texas #6). Get your first month for $1. 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. The timing between Daniels and his receivers was off all game. Arizona State just out-executed the Trojans defense in the run game. Then Utah States defensive coordinator, Orlando flew to Columbus, Ohio to interview with Herman for Houstons defensive coordinator job in January of 2015. The Cyclones used the Dime look as their base defense for the entire season, leading to victories over high-powered offenses like Oklahoma (#1 in BCfToys Offensive Efficiency) and Memphis (#16). One need only look at Texas Oct. 21 matchup with Oklahoma State for an example. Orlando said hes already adjusted his scheme, which relies on mixed fronts and aggressive blitzing, to fit USCs personnel. Most recently, Orlando coached at USC for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In McVays offense, the use of quick motions, multiple formations, and what seems to be an Air Raid-ish passing game has given NFL defenses fits all year. Orlando utilizes a number of disguised blitzes and coverages out of his 3-4 front, which can cause havoc for an offense trying to sort through things quickly. Though it did prove to be the origin of one of college footballs best coordinator-head coach relationships. One of the key subplots to USC's season opener against Arizona State is the performance of the Trojans' defense, more specifically the secondary. Orlando's favorite scheme against the run in his multiple 3-4. He served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin from 2017 to 2019 and the University of Southern California (USC) from 2020 to 2021. Since Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman dismissed defensive coordinator Todd Orlando two and a half months ago and even before, to some extent its become clear just how much defensive line recruits and players disliked the front used by Orlando in his 3-3-5 defense. Simulated Pressures From a Positionless Defense (2019 Sugar Bowl), on Simulated Pressures From a Positionless Defense (2019 Sugar Bowl), View @matchquarterss profile on Instagram, Simulated Pressures From a Positionless Defense (2019 Sugar Bowl), article discussing how teams attack the Tite Front, Georgia and Texas used the front and similar coverage schemes as a base, BCfToys.coms top 10 in Defensive Efficiency, Using an EXIT stunt to combat a zone heavy offense. In this particular instance shown above, the Jack backer walls the play by climbing to the RB. Thats certainly a way to end the regular season and enter March Madness. Through spring and summer, the physical, hard-nosed brand of defense Todd Orlando promised to bring to USC remained strictly theoretical. 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. 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. Gone were the experienced players in the secondary who could force the quarterback to hold the ball for an extra second or two. Orlando has also recently had stops at Texas (2017-2019), Houston(2015-2016), and Utah State (2013-2014). Gambling problem? The Longhorns created four total sacks (averaged 2.33 a game). If youre thinking in football, youre playing slow.. Jackson played with his hand in the ground a bit, just not as frequently as he did last season. Against the more run-heavy approaches from USC, Oklahoma and Kansas State, Orlando utilized his traditional blend of nickel defense, moving quarters coverages and zone blitzes. The inside LB corp consists of a Mike and what is referred to as a B backer. The Longhorns used lightning package variation the remainder of the season, allowing only 21 points per game the rest of the way. Orlando believes the only way a team will play fast and hard is if they do so in practice. Orlando now becomes the seventh defensive coordinator in seven seasons for FAU. Behind them, USC has transfers like Xavion Alford and Chris Thompson, not to mention a slew of freshmen. The Tite Front is becoming a popular way to defend the Spread; its important to understand how teams are going to attack it on the ground. Examine Texas schedule last season, and youll see a murders row of quarterbacks:Sam Darnold(No. It wasnt all about the front either, the use of Match 3 (Rip/Liz) and the rebirth/redesign of the (Dime) Tampa 2, was a big contributor to how teams attacked the Longhorns, Cyclones, and Bulldogs. You have to look at the film and say, This guy can wreck a game, Orlando said. How you practice around here is going to be how many reps you get, Orlando said. That pair figures to start at the two end positions, with either Jamar Sekona or Stanley Taufoou at tackle. Orlando needs opposing offenses to be one-dimensional, and against great quarterbacks that means sacrificing numbers in the box. The biggest breakthrough of the spread offense was in creating a clearer pre-snap picture for the offense and the QB in particular so that he had a narrower menu of options and threats to scan through after the snap. USC essentially ran a 4-2 front last season under former defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast. perspective, he's found Orlando to be a gem of an assistant for a variety of reasons. So what did game No. The initial conversations went well. 1 teach us about the units new direction? Most people know what to expect from USCs offense from game to game. 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. Up front, the Longhorns moved third-down specialist Breckyn Hager into one of the 4i-technique DE positions, where his scrappy playing style allowed him to battle bigger offensive linemen despite his smaller stature (6'2" 240). Schemes aside, Orlandos defense is built on one thing above all his players flying to the ball. The former is built on repetitive contact. Todd Orlando, defensive coordinator, Houston. The beauty within Orlandos use of interchangeable players allows him to stay within packages, but get different pre-snap looks. https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/2021/10/13/todd-orlandos-defense-has-been-getting-exposed-all-year-long/. 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. Spread offenses search for the B gap because that is where the conflicted player usually is for a defense. One of those games came in a 13-10 victory over Texas. USC played just five defensive linemen against Arizona State. You would think its hard to learn, but he made it so simple.. The Longhorns are taking away a weapon (the QB), while also preventing running backs from getting behind them for big gains. Hes a guru, said Texas junior safetyBrandon Jones. At Texas, Orlando oversaw a defense that improved from 80th to 24th in points allowed. Echols was the extra linebacker who came onto the field in those scenarios. (Liberty vs Arkansas 22), Dec. 22 Blitz of the Month Georgias Pod Alignment, Blitzing from the Odd Stack vs a Pro Style offense (Ole Miss vs Kentucky 22). Safeties Talanoa Hufanga and Isaiah Pola-Mao are expected to take on more active roles in directing the defense. We understood the reason why we were running what we were running, Roach said. Every time USC football scrimmaged, there was one side of the ball that dominated much of the live periods: the defense. 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. Texas removed what would often be a disadvantaged linebacker in pass coverage and added a dime safety as a robber in the middle of the defense. What I think were all starting to learn defensively theres some four-down stuff thats really good but the number of people you can get off the ball based on how the offense is attacking can be advantageous to you.. 1 overall pick), Rudolph (3rd-round pick),Will Grier(preseason All-American) andDrew Lock(projected first-round pick). Herman brought Orlando along with him to Texas, where a brilliant Year 1 netted the Longhorns defensive coordinator a raise to $1.7 million per year through the 2021 season. Before that, his inaugural Utah State defense ranked seventh in points allowed. It makes a QB think, said Texas senior defensive endCharles Omenihu. Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress. Herman said Orlando would be the first assistant in his foxhole. Saban has finally embraced the change as well, throwing the ball more than he ever has before with Tua Tagovailoa. He did some things out there that were pretty special.. Then Utah State's defensive coordinator, Orlando flew to Columbus, Ohio to interview with Herman for Houston's defensive coordinator job. By closing both B gaps, the offense has to either plug it up the A gap (which most Spread teams wont do) or run it outside. 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. In Orlandos scheme, the Mike is the plugger and will go away from the Nose. The Times first reported his hiring Monday. 9 Texas pummels No. 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. The reason for this is the design of Orlando's defense, which favors speed over size at the middle linebacker position. Herman brought Orlando along with him to Texas, where a brilliant Year 1 netted the Longhorns defensive coordinator a raise to $1.7 million per year through the 2021 season. 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. Through it all, Orlandos stayed on Hermans staff. But mostly, Halls role was to stay in the middle of the field to aggressively close on the many quick-hitting passes the Cowboys employed and discourage the posts that defined the offense. Orlando sorts film breakdown by position. How do you get your players to play hard? The result was a hurried throw from Daniels, an incompletion on fourth down, and a victory for USC. To me, thats recruiting. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. You know, he was a linebacker previously, and hes really strong, so being able to move in this system is really a high priority, defensive line coach Vic Sooto said. Cornerback is a different situation. 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. In the NFL, the increasing use of 11 pers. Until you go against live, at the end of the day youre not going to trick everybody in terms of your scheme, Orlando said. Texas junior defensive endMalcolm Roachsaid an Orlando film session is everything youd want it to be. That means a detail-oriented outlook focused to the point where Orlando will call out a player for a 12-inch step instead of a 6-inch one. In fact, Gary Johnson and Anthony Wheeler combined for 10.5 sacks, nearly a third of the teams total. Orlandos defensive turnaround in Austin stems back to that interview in Columbus. Arizona State still had some success against this front with a 17-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against the look. You look toward the tail end of the game, our intent was to bring enough guys we could go at least six (defenders) for six (blockers) on them and force them to throw the football.. Players retained more than he expected, and coaches got to know players better than they would have otherwise. 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. Hes at his best when hes trying to get into the backfield, and thats what he was mainly asked to do on Saturday. FAU's defense . You hear about soggy eggs and burnt toast, but its the pad popping thats the real story of these daily efforts. LOS ANGELES USC has its new defensive coordinator, Todd Orlando. The Longhorns sessions reflect that. In fact, they often had little to no idea how to defend the run in Texas' exotic defenses, and the Longhorns were regularly trashed by teams with multiple run games that could cause confusion. Nothing went right for Texas and the principles Orlando instilled all offseason seemed to evaporate. But when the Trojans needed Jackson the most, they turned him loose and let him do what he does best at the end of the game: rush the passer. Todd Orlando has plenty of experience arriving at a new school and installing his defensive scheme for the first time. He said of Orlandos teaching, He has one of those play calls where its constant blitzes. The time is now! 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). This article appeared in Athlon Sports' 2018 Big 12 Regional Football Preview Editions. Their rotation would be a bit deeper, too. Orlando did present Arizona State with several different looks on Saturday. A Pasadena native, he currently lives in the South Bay. Longhorns defensive coordinator Todd Orlando debuted his "cowboy" package in a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech last Saturday. Overall, the rotation was much shorter than what was utilized last year. 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. Senior middle linebackerGary Johnsoncame from a junior college in 2016 where the scheme was significantly less complex. The rover is the tip of the spear for the Orlando defensive scheme, and he uses that position as a solution to the main problem for the 3-4 defense in the modern era: How to create a multi-pronged pass rush from a nickel package. In watching ITS throughout this fall camp and knowing that he has a sense of urgency to really capture that position as well as be elite at it has been really nice to see.. - Rudolphs Cowboys managed a season-low 13 points (All-American wide receiverJames Washingtonmanaged just 32 yards in the win). You have pass rushers out there, TaQuon Graham, Marqez Bimage, Joe Ossai guys that can get after the quarterback. That wasnt happening before Hermans arrival in Austin. Figueroa had a breakout 2020 season and since then has added 15 pounds of muscle to give himself the flexibility to line up at his natural defensive end position or slide inside to play tackle. Try a week on us. A simplified picture combined with an athletic QB who could improvise if things got hairy made the spread offense absolutely deadly. Once I left, I thought we were one and the same.. Its really hard to screw up a run play. Texas also got produced seven sacks from the secondary because the experienced group on the back end was able to cover long enough for those deep blitzes to get home. I feel the 4-3 will help those guys to show their talents and more people will come out of Texas.. From there, the hits dont stop. However, although Hill called Orlandos scheme gimmicky, thats not really true Baylor and Iowa State both had highly productive defenses in 2019 with similar schemes. 9 Texas 75-59 win No. Herman knew within 10 minutes of talking with Orlando hed found his defensive coordinator. And that might just be the way it is moving forward. The rotation should expand when Pili returns, but at the moment USCs defensive personnel is what it is. Herman isnt shy about issuing compliments to his defensive lieutenant. Roach believes that the changes will produce better results on the field and better position future defensive lines to make the jump to the next level. Were starting to try and create things like that defensively, so at least when theyre coming in there and theyre game planning us, you know, maybe it eliminates some plays youd normally see if youre vanilla. LOS ANGELES Under normal circumstances, first-year USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando would have just finished the in-person evaluation portion of the recruiting calendar. Its three starters (Marlon Tuipulotu, Tremblay and Figueroa) and two backups (Tuli Tuipulotu and Stanley Taufoou) were the only ones who saw action. Boca Raton, Fla. - Just over 24 hours after FootballScoop.com first reported that FAU defensive coordinator Mike Stoops was heading to Kentucky to coach with his brother Mark Stoops, the Owls have quickly found his replacement in former Southern California defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Todd Orlando, per Bruce Feldman. Orlando said that shift occured because of practice habits and strong relationships between the defensive staff and its players. 9 Texas hosts No. But it can look that way. Clancy Pendergast there wasnt a lot of mystery to his defense. Orlando said USC utilized 70 to 75 percent of its defensive package against the Sun Devils. If the offense doesn't even know where the overload is coming from or who's dropping into coverage unless they can figure it out after the snap, they're more likely to have their own weak spots exposed than they are to hammer a favorable matchup with a pinpoint pass or run. The guy could be a linebacker coach. 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. This positionless style of play allows hybrid players, primarily at linebacker and defensive back, to play a larger role. Hell then put on a video with several examples. 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. But Orlando paid Herman, a former QB coach, an even higher compliment than that. We just had to learn to embrace it, and now we look forward to it.. Click here to buy a copy today or visit your local newsstand! USC, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Missouri each rushed 34-plus times against Texas but averaged only 4.2 yards per carry. But players say Orlandos greatest strength is the ability to break down complicated concepts into digestible pieces. Todd Orlandoremembers feeling bad forTom Herman. 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. Former Texas DE Malcolm Roach criticizes Todd Orlandos scheme, Quick thoughts from No. And Charles Omenihu won the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year award in 2018 with 9.5 sacks playing in the same scheme that ultimately limited Orlandos last defense in Austin. Orlandos scheme isnt complicated at least by memorization standards. Its very unique, added Texas senior safetyP.J. There has been a critical error on this website. 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. College football was temporarily revolutionized when hurry-up spread teams began to perfect the art of sending signals from the sideline to the field, allowing coordinators to make audibles and adjustments on behalf of their players. The real issues went beneath the surface. He is the defensive coordinator at the University of South Florida . We are excited to have Todd join our Trojan football program, USC coach Clay Helton said in a release. 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. 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. So no matter the look, USCs run defense needs to get better. 3. Todd Orlando's defense has been getting exposed all year long Share this article 31 shares Matt Wadleigh October 13, 2021 4:15 am PT After the opening weekend for USC, things looked good for. - Grier hurt himself early in the contest against Texas, but Locks 52.9 completion rate in the Texas Bowl was one of his worst of the year. It also means Orlandos weekly priority of taking away what he calls "game wreckers" is even more imperative. Get full team. Orlando took a job as the linebackers coach and assistant head coach at Texas Tech soon after. And with depth limited at linebacker, Ralen Goforth and Kanai Mauga have emerged as top candidates to start alongside Palaie Gaoteote in roles theyve had to learn on the fly. In both cases, Orlando said, those defenses simply needed a kickstart., I think thats what [Ive done], the places Ive been coming into, is just to try to free these guys up, Orlando said. The Longhorns were putrid in 2015 and 2016, allowing the third- and sixth-most rushing yards in school history. Not all of its issues were alignment-related though. But so far, its all been against an offense the USC defense knows very, very well. After that hell usually return to the picture one last time before moving to the board to draw different concepts out of the same look. The Cyclones and Longhorns most notably did it while using a 3-safety Dime package for parts of the season. Hes got that mindset. https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/2020/11/06/todd-orlando-vs-arizona-state-a-central-pregame-question-for-usc/. If you take what he says at face value there, maybe they shouldnt be too worried about the additional wrinkles making things confusing or leading to miscommunications. 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. Herman calls Orlando the best defensive coordinator in the country. Fail big.. He has a system that allows his talented players to play freely, said Baylor head coachMatt Rhule. It's pretty common for coordinators to double up as position coaches for the most important position on their unit. After holding Oklahoma State to 10 points in regulation, Orlando set about tweaking and retooling the base defense around the 3-2-6 lightning package and the robber coverage. He is an experienced and successful defensive coordinator who has made an impact everywhere he has coached.. The more you put in, the more you get out.. Orlando has a long coaching career with multiple stops across the country. 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