NEW ORLEANS -- Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando address the media on Sunday prior to the Longhorns facing Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Here are the highlights of his media session:
--- Orlando’s response when asked what his team has down well defensively and the areas of improvement: “We've settled in a little bit on our lineup. I think that's been important for us. We've had a little bit of a roller coaster of injuries. I think the thing that we probably need to do a lot better job of, I know we've talked about this before, is on our third-down defense. I think it's noticeable right now. It's one of those things. And we're going against a very good third-down offense, the extension of drives with the more chances of explosive plays. And I think college football has come into making sure the ball is in front of you, but more importantly is turnovers and third-down defense. And those are the two things that I'd like to see majorly pick up this game coming up.”
--- Georgia described Orlando’s defensive backs as very physical, and the defensive coordinator was pleased to hear it.
--- Orlando on Georgia’s offensive line: “Just massive. That's the biggest thing, the bigger bodies, they can move. They're a zone team, so they can get that wave rolling on you and they can gobble you up. So, it's going to be a heck of a challenge. A lot of the times, you see bigger body guys when they get to 320, 330, that you may be slow footed or you see guys that just can't move very well. These guys can. And when you look at the match-ups, all this stuff, you look at how they recruited in the last couple years, they're getting these top guys that can play ball too. They're just not big, pretty looking kids. They can play. It's going to be a tremendous challenge for us. We're going to have hold up. We're going to have to tackle really well and we're going to have to anchor down especially with our front three guys.”
--- Orlando described Georgia running backs Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Swift and push button speed guys. He also said, “They can turn a corner as fast as the guys that we've seen.”
--- Orlando expects to defend fewer third-downs because Georgia plays at a slower pace. He said there are typically 17 third-down conversion attempts in the Big 12, compared to the 12 to 14 he expects to defend against Georgia.
--- Orlando on his message to the players prior to the Sugar Bowl: "I think it's a little bit twofold. I think it's a great opportunity here at the Sugar Bowl. We get it. But to go out there and remember the way that we've trained, it's been five months. I mean when you really think about it, we started in, like, the first week of August. These kids have been together, we've been together for five months. Cut it loose. Cut it loose. Don't go out there and hesitate and do that stuff. I think when you get into these environments. And back in 2010, 2012, when you're talking about our program at Texas, been on those big stages and we hit a little bit of a lull and then all of a sudden, we get back into the big-stage moment, this is still a learning process for our kids. But I want them to understand that the way that we practice, the demands that we put on you, that stuff is there for a reason. So, when you get into stages like this, don't wait. Don't evaluate. Don't hesitate. Go out there from the kickoff and cut it loose. And I think that's probably the theme that kind of collectively overall goes along with this kind of the normal stuff that we talk about: Control the run game, get turnovers, and limit them on third-down conversions. That's kind of the defensive philosophy. But I can see this. We got an opportunity to play in the Big 12 championship. We went out there and I thought for the most part there was some plays during the game where you feel like, Hey, man. Cut it loose. Cut it loose. Go, go, go. I think this will be the same thing, where you get into a big stage versus an opponent that you have not seen before. Oklahoma a little bit different because we have played them before. There's a comfort level to go out there and just cut it loose. We'll just go out there talking about that the next couple days. The cool part about it in my opinion is this is it. There's no next game for the guys that are seniors. This is collectively our last game together as a group. So, what is there? Just cut it loose and go have fun and go play really, really hard within our system and the way that you practice. And that's why the practice part is so important because you kind of earn that right to go on the field by what you've done. And I thought we practiced, in my opinion, very well since we've been here. And I thought we've had some really good practices back at home in Austin.”
--- Orlando’s response when asked what his team has down well defensively and the areas of improvement: “We've settled in a little bit on our lineup. I think that's been important for us. We've had a little bit of a roller coaster of injuries. I think the thing that we probably need to do a lot better job of, I know we've talked about this before, is on our third-down defense. I think it's noticeable right now. It's one of those things. And we're going against a very good third-down offense, the extension of drives with the more chances of explosive plays. And I think college football has come into making sure the ball is in front of you, but more importantly is turnovers and third-down defense. And those are the two things that I'd like to see majorly pick up this game coming up.”
--- Georgia described Orlando’s defensive backs as very physical, and the defensive coordinator was pleased to hear it.
--- Orlando on Georgia’s offensive line: “Just massive. That's the biggest thing, the bigger bodies, they can move. They're a zone team, so they can get that wave rolling on you and they can gobble you up. So, it's going to be a heck of a challenge. A lot of the times, you see bigger body guys when they get to 320, 330, that you may be slow footed or you see guys that just can't move very well. These guys can. And when you look at the match-ups, all this stuff, you look at how they recruited in the last couple years, they're getting these top guys that can play ball too. They're just not big, pretty looking kids. They can play. It's going to be a tremendous challenge for us. We're going to have hold up. We're going to have to tackle really well and we're going to have to anchor down especially with our front three guys.”
--- Orlando described Georgia running backs Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Swift and push button speed guys. He also said, “They can turn a corner as fast as the guys that we've seen.”
--- Orlando expects to defend fewer third-downs because Georgia plays at a slower pace. He said there are typically 17 third-down conversion attempts in the Big 12, compared to the 12 to 14 he expects to defend against Georgia.
--- Orlando on his message to the players prior to the Sugar Bowl: "I think it's a little bit twofold. I think it's a great opportunity here at the Sugar Bowl. We get it. But to go out there and remember the way that we've trained, it's been five months. I mean when you really think about it, we started in, like, the first week of August. These kids have been together, we've been together for five months. Cut it loose. Cut it loose. Don't go out there and hesitate and do that stuff. I think when you get into these environments. And back in 2010, 2012, when you're talking about our program at Texas, been on those big stages and we hit a little bit of a lull and then all of a sudden, we get back into the big-stage moment, this is still a learning process for our kids. But I want them to understand that the way that we practice, the demands that we put on you, that stuff is there for a reason. So, when you get into stages like this, don't wait. Don't evaluate. Don't hesitate. Go out there from the kickoff and cut it loose. And I think that's probably the theme that kind of collectively overall goes along with this kind of the normal stuff that we talk about: Control the run game, get turnovers, and limit them on third-down conversions. That's kind of the defensive philosophy. But I can see this. We got an opportunity to play in the Big 12 championship. We went out there and I thought for the most part there was some plays during the game where you feel like, Hey, man. Cut it loose. Cut it loose. Go, go, go. I think this will be the same thing, where you get into a big stage versus an opponent that you have not seen before. Oklahoma a little bit different because we have played them before. There's a comfort level to go out there and just cut it loose. We'll just go out there talking about that the next couple days. The cool part about it in my opinion is this is it. There's no next game for the guys that are seniors. This is collectively our last game together as a group. So, what is there? Just cut it loose and go have fun and go play really, really hard within our system and the way that you practice. And that's why the practice part is so important because you kind of earn that right to go on the field by what you've done. And I thought we practiced, in my opinion, very well since we've been here. And I thought we've had some really good practices back at home in Austin.”
