Texas football coach Todd Orlando addressed the media after practice on Wednesday. Here are the highlights from his press conference.
--- Orlando said there is a possibility Jalen Green will play against TCU on Saturday. Green has looked good in practice this week, according to Orlando.
--- Orlando on the injuries to his defense this season: “What's happening right now is just one of those things that we can't control. All we can do is just keep pushing forward, get these guys in there, and just try to get them as seasoned as you can during practice. That’s the hardest thing. So when they go out on the field, they're not surprised, they're not shocked to play in front of a full house, and try to just settle them down.”
--- Orlando said they are trying to be smart with B.J. Foster during practice this week since he has not been physically at 100 percent the past few games. However, he would not expand on the practice plan.
--- When asked about the difficulty of making in-season adjustments (improving tackling, for instance), Orlando said they work on those areas on Tuesday during practice: “We're not taking time away from scheming up people, or putting emphasis on you know first and second down. It's what we have to do right now. You can't talk about it. You can't wait until games. When go versus our look team, it’s pretty much live, but you can't simulate it. I think it helps both sides to put offensive guys, because if they're in space, and they can't make somebody miss, that hurts us offensively. The same thing defensively when you go against really, really good guys, like Jake [Smith]. He’s a great example. Trying to get a hold of that guy is much different than trying to get a hold of a developmental guy. You make the commitment, you move forward, you got great film, and now you literally can say like this is a very good, and this is what you're doing wrong. You're lunging at people, you're shooting at people's ankles, you need to run your shoulder through people and drive your feet. But at least that these guys can see it, and say to themselves this is a legit guy, and this is the technique that I got to perform.”
--- Orlando said the defensive backs have not been good at looking back at balls being thrown in their direction and breaking up the play: “If you see it in practice, you would say to yourself they make plays. I mean honestly. We go against some great people, and they'll turn around and find football. For whatever reason, we get into these situations where we get a little bit panicky, we don't get our head around, and we can't we can't find the ball.”
--- Orlando gathered his unit on Sunday after the team meeting to keep their confidence high. He compiled a cut-up of the interceptions and explosive plays from his defense against West Virginia and Oklahoma. Orlando told his guys that everyone is getting beat up [publicly], including himself, but wanted to remind them of the positive plays that have occurred during recent games.
--- Orlando on the challenges of calling plays without having key players due to their injuries: “It really is something really makes you think about what's going on formation [wise]. You'd like to be able to call the game like free flowing. This is what they do with this down a distance, but now you're getting these situations where you got to be smart and that's. But that's fine. That’s what a coach should do, and a coach should plan to do all the time, but sometimes it can make you hesitate a little bit.”
--- Orlando said there is a sense or urgency to improve with only five regular season games remaining. He noted how TCU successfully ran the ball against Texas two years ago when the Longhorns had future NFL players. Orlando said he has a great group of kids, and the staff is trying to grow them up as fast as possible.
--- Orlando said there is a possibility Jalen Green will play against TCU on Saturday. Green has looked good in practice this week, according to Orlando.
--- Orlando on the injuries to his defense this season: “What's happening right now is just one of those things that we can't control. All we can do is just keep pushing forward, get these guys in there, and just try to get them as seasoned as you can during practice. That’s the hardest thing. So when they go out on the field, they're not surprised, they're not shocked to play in front of a full house, and try to just settle them down.”
--- Orlando said they are trying to be smart with B.J. Foster during practice this week since he has not been physically at 100 percent the past few games. However, he would not expand on the practice plan.
--- When asked about the difficulty of making in-season adjustments (improving tackling, for instance), Orlando said they work on those areas on Tuesday during practice: “We're not taking time away from scheming up people, or putting emphasis on you know first and second down. It's what we have to do right now. You can't talk about it. You can't wait until games. When go versus our look team, it’s pretty much live, but you can't simulate it. I think it helps both sides to put offensive guys, because if they're in space, and they can't make somebody miss, that hurts us offensively. The same thing defensively when you go against really, really good guys, like Jake [Smith]. He’s a great example. Trying to get a hold of that guy is much different than trying to get a hold of a developmental guy. You make the commitment, you move forward, you got great film, and now you literally can say like this is a very good, and this is what you're doing wrong. You're lunging at people, you're shooting at people's ankles, you need to run your shoulder through people and drive your feet. But at least that these guys can see it, and say to themselves this is a legit guy, and this is the technique that I got to perform.”
--- Orlando said the defensive backs have not been good at looking back at balls being thrown in their direction and breaking up the play: “If you see it in practice, you would say to yourself they make plays. I mean honestly. We go against some great people, and they'll turn around and find football. For whatever reason, we get into these situations where we get a little bit panicky, we don't get our head around, and we can't we can't find the ball.”
--- Orlando gathered his unit on Sunday after the team meeting to keep their confidence high. He compiled a cut-up of the interceptions and explosive plays from his defense against West Virginia and Oklahoma. Orlando told his guys that everyone is getting beat up [publicly], including himself, but wanted to remind them of the positive plays that have occurred during recent games.
--- Orlando on the challenges of calling plays without having key players due to their injuries: “It really is something really makes you think about what's going on formation [wise]. You'd like to be able to call the game like free flowing. This is what they do with this down a distance, but now you're getting these situations where you got to be smart and that's. But that's fine. That’s what a coach should do, and a coach should plan to do all the time, but sometimes it can make you hesitate a little bit.”
--- Orlando said there is a sense or urgency to improve with only five regular season games remaining. He noted how TCU successfully ran the ball against Texas two years ago when the Longhorns had future NFL players. Orlando said he has a great group of kids, and the staff is trying to grow them up as fast as possible.
