The Horns look to close out the inaugural season at the Moody Center with a 17-1 record. After all, he fired Orlando and brought in Ash as an agent of change. The time is now! Its very unique, added Texas senior safetyP.J. 9 Texas pummels No. 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. - 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. Texas finished 7-5 and Orlando was fired as part of a staff overhaul. The Trojans defense held the Spartans to only seven points on the game, and things seemed to be going well in Southern California. From Georgia in the SEC to the Longhorns and Cyclones in the Big 12, the new-age Double Eagle took flight as one of the top ways to contain high powered Spread offenses. But beyond those six players, USC has question marks. Odds & lines subject to change. The Big 12 is not new to the concept of smaller faster players playing on the defensive side of the ball. While some players struggled to learn virtually, he said the extra time spent installing and discussing the defense led to an especially sharp first week. But players say Orlandos greatest strength is the ability to break down complicated concepts into digestible pieces. 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. The defense has numbers and is plus-one on the pulling guard. After the second day of pads (last spring) we were like, Golly, we havent do this much hitting in a minute. Its just that mental toughness they instill in us. USC has officially found the new face of its defense. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Practice your tail off and youre going to be playing on Saturdays. Before heading to Utah State and learning the art of disguised zone blitzes and modern 3-4 defense from the Kyle Whittingham coaching tree in the early 2010s, Orlando was a traditional 4-3 coach. Youre in this area and theres some really good high school players in this area, the top guys. He knows the tendencies of the receivers, the quarterbacks, the linemen, what they have to offer. He is an experienced and successful defensive coordinator who has made an impact everywhere he has coached.. Orlando usually sent four rushers when he used this package early in the game, and Sun Devils quarterback Jayden Daniels took advantage of the pressure on the first drive by ripping off a 38-yard run. It could afford to, considering Arizona State wasnt making it pay through the air. 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. The goal of Orlandos defense is twofold: 1. 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. Be sure to follow us on Twitter at: The time is now! He also spent two years covering preps for the Orange County Register and Torrance Daily Breeze. In the NFL, the increasing use of 11 pers. Every time USC football scrimmaged, there was one side of the ball that dominated much of the live periods: the defense. Thats what practice is about. Youre going to be based on how hard you run to the football, how you get off blocks and how you tackle.. 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. The name of the game for Orlando is attacking opponents where they are always weakest -- in their ability to handle pressure and confusion with little reaction time. If you dont, its going to be limited. One it has practiced against every day for months. in the 80s, most NFL defenses also carry a hybrid DE, regardless if basing out of a three or four-down defense. Its not likely to last forever. How do you get your players to play hard? We are excited to have Todd join our Trojan football program, USC coach Clay Helton said in a release. 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. Overall, the rotation was much shorter than what was utilized last year. Those disguised blitzes cause an opposing quarterback to think, which is critical against tempo. After missing the first week of camp in health and safety protocols, Jackson was practically unblockable in practices, using his finesse moves on the edge to cause havoc in the backfield. Continue reading Simulated Pressures From a Positionless Defense (2019 Sugar Bowl). At Utah State, where he worked in 2013 and 2014, Orlandos defenses also finished in the nations top 20 in fewest points allowed. Orlando told his team, Its my fault. Last. Drake Jackson will man the hybrid outside backer position again this season. Through it all, Orlandos stayed on Hermans staff. Orlando said hes already adjusted his scheme, which relies on mixed fronts and aggressive blitzing, to fit USCs personnel. The Spread offense has touched every corner of college football. Pili underwent surgery last week on some broken fingers, which forced him to miss the game. He wants his defenders to fly to the football. During his time as defensive coordinator at Texas, his defense forced 65 turnovers and ranked in the top 10 nationally for . 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. Written by Ian Boyd (@Ian_A_Boyd)for Athlon Sports. 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. Though Jackson is officially an outside linebacker now and is listed at 20 pounds lighter than he weighed a year ago (from 275 to 255), it doesnt seem like his role has changed a ton, at least from what he showed Saturday. The loss of Jay Tufele, who opted out to focus on the NFL draft, has already thrust senior defensive tackle Brandon Pili into the starting lineup. 3 overall pick),Baker Mayfield(No. Continue reading Attacking the Tite Front. Redshirt freshman Max Williams was the extra defensive back on the field in these packages. The real issues went beneath the surface. Get full team previews, schedules, scouting reports, conference predictions, and national rankings. Put together, bad luck and some poor choices cost Orlando his job, in no small part because the defensive line wasnt positioned for success. To me, thats recruiting. LOS ANGELES It was clear for most of fall camp. Orlando has proven in previous stops that hes capable of a quick reboot; though, never quite under the current circumstances he now faces. Phone. Here is where USCs struggles against the run and its short rotation, particularly on the defensive line, tie together. 3. Once the guard pulls (the 4is key), he can chase and climb to the mesh. Though it did prove to be the origin of one of college footballs best coordinator-head coach relationships. 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. 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. 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. If the guard stays on the 4i (double team), both the Mike and Will are left free to flow with the play and what DC doesnt want is ILBs free-flowing to the ball? A good run defense has been a calling card of Orlandos units at his previous stops. It also gives him the ability to put players in situations to take advantage of deficiencies within an offensive scheme or weaker/slower players. One thing to not overlook is the away side 4i who has leverage on the away side tackle. 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. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. 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. So no matter the look, USCs run defense needs to get better. As expected, USC hired Todd Orlando as its defensive coordinator on Friday. Its OKto fail, man. Defenses that base out of the Tite Front dont mind the bounce because their speedy (and usually free)LBs can now chase down the RB while its overhangs box everything back inside (think of them like the Double Eagles wide-9s). Safeties coach Craig Naivar, whos been working with Orlando since 2015, described the defense with that exact word a few weeks ago. In this particular instance shown above, the Jack backer walls the play by climbing to the RB. 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. Texas didnt do much to stop the onslaught late in the game (no one did), but there are some definite takeaways. Two things generally forced USC to shift out of its base defense. Those disguised blitzes are a favorite ploy. One key element I talked about in my latest book, Hybrids: The Making of a Modern Defense, is the use of a more positionless defensive gameplan going forward into the future. Orlando's rover is typically one of the team leaders in sacks as a result of this strategy. Visit our online store to order your copy. 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. But the Trojans just had a full, traditional offseason, from spring football to summer conditioning, creating When interim defensive coordinator Craig Naivar finally allowed Ossai to play that role, Ossai produced three of his five sacks in the Alamo Bowl. This is where the separation begins.. Adam Grosbard covers USC athletics for the Orange County Register and Southern California News Group. Orlando has previously doubled as linebackers coach, a position that USC split last season between Johnny Nansen, who coached inside linebackers, and Joe DeForest, who coached outside linebackers. Though Iowa State and their base Broken Stack that features a three-safety Dime Robber scheme has become the most popular scheme within the league, in truth, it is Todd Orlando at Texas that has made his mark around the country behind his use of a positionless defense and defending the wide-open schemes found in the league.