Pass rush primer with Todd Orlando

By Steve Lansdale

It’s no secret that college football offenses have increased their reliance on the passing game in recent years. Yards, and more importantly, points, have gone up as coaches figure out more ways to get the ball downfield and into the hands of some of their teams’ most dangerous playmakers.

That aerial approach affects both sides of the ball, of course, and Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando and his staff understandably are putting a heavy emphasis on containing opponents’ passing attacks.

Just about every defensive coach at any level will point out that pass coverage starts [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]with the pass rush generated at the line of scrimmage. Two of the Longhorns’ top pass rushers from a year ago, defensive ends Charles Omenihu and Breckyn Hager, are gone after combining for 12 sacks as seniors in 2018. Orlando said the UT defense has several players who should be able to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks, headlined by senior Malcolm Roach.

“To me, you would expect Malcolm Roach and “TQ” (Ta’Quon Graham) and Joe Ossai … so we’ve got some people that can rush the quarterback, and whether or not they can put it all together in a game situation, we’ll see,” Orlando said. “Once again, this doesn’t go down to whether or not Malcolm Roach is talented. Now Malcolm Roach puts himself in a situation, instead of playing 30 plays, he might play 55, 60 plays. So that’s what we’ve got to find out: whether Malcolm can continue to press the gas … on play 48 or 49 the same way he did on play 5.”

Orlando said replacing talent is a challenge every coaching staff faces every year, and while it can be tough to bid farewell to productive players from previous seasons, it’s a misconception to think that the players filling those roles (other than true freshmen who earn immediate playing time) are completely unprepared for the challenges that await them.

“You get the perception that a lot of these guys are going to be new,” Orlando said. “They’ve played, but how much have they played? And it’s different — if you’re Joe Ossai, getting in for 15 reps, instead of going maybe 65, 70 … it’s a different ballgame. That’s what we’ve got to learn, it those guys will be able to do it, and then we’ve got to shuffle guys in if they can’t give us what we need to win.”

Orlando didn’t say he needs one player to be the unquestioned top threat in the pass rush … but acknowledged that Roach is the most accomplished returning pass rusher.

“You get to this point in your career, you kind of look around and you know you’re the guy, then become the guy,” Orlando said. “Maybe last year it was (Charles Omenihu) a little but, maybe Breck (Hager) a little bit, and you sit there and go this is kind of my (backup) role, but Malcolm especially, to me, understands how valuable he’s going to be in terms of making plays up front.”
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