Todd Orlando addresses secondary concerns

By Steve Lansdale

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas quarterbacks Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele combined to throw just six interceptions, a total any coach in the country would label as spectacular. Any offense that throws less than half an interception per game has a legitimate chance to win.

The Texas defense collected 12 interceptions. Despite being twice the number coughed up by the UT quarterbacks, the dozen interceptions in 2018 was not enough.

Couple those numbers with the fact that the Longhorns’ top two cornerbacks, Kris Boyd and Davante Davis, are spending this summer in NFL training camps, and the Texas defense has its work cut out for it if the goal is to [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]snag more takeaways in the passing game.

UT defensive coordinator Todd Orlando made no secret of the fact that he has not yet solidified his rotation in the secondary, at least at cornerback. But he is optimistic that the cornerbacks will get better, in large part because of … Collin Johnson, the 6-foot, 6-inch receiver who causes major headaches for opposing defensive coordinators because of the mismatches he creates for literally every player who tries to cover him. Going against Johnson in practice, Orlando said, will prepare the Texas cornerbacks to face any receiver on the schedule.

“It’s competitive,” Orlando said when asked about the battle for starting roles and playing time at the cornerback positions. “You’ve got four or five guys in the mix, and … nobody has given us any signs that they can’t play at this level. We’ve got to challenge them, and we’ve got some great guys, offensively, to challenge them with, so we’re going to have to rotate some guys in there. If they can go against Collin (Johnson) and be successful, then we feel they can play with anybody in the country.”

Crazy eight?
It is not uncommon for teams, especially when the opposing offense faces a need for long yardage in an obvious passing down, to add extra defensive backs. Many teams, including Texas, regularly employ a 4-2-5 alignment, in which a quintet of defensive backs takes the field to in an effort to get more players with the speed to cover receivers on the field at once. Defensive coordinators with the right personnel, and the guts to call it, will add a sixth defensive back.

Orlando and the Longhorns’ defensive staff are toying with a package that would put eight defensive backs on the field at one time behind either three defensive linemen or two linemen and a single linebacker. The coaches are still tinkering with the details of the schemes, and determining if they have the personnel to run it effectively. But it definitely is under consideration.

“We’re working on getting our best guys out there, so we’re shuffling some guys around to see who’s the best pass rushers — it starts from there — and then finding out who’s going to be our best cover guys on the second level,” Orlando said. “(Co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach) Craig (Naivar) has all those guys in his room, and I think they understand that. I’ve said this before: we want to play the next best ballplayer. We won’t necessarily play the … on the depth chart … the second boundary safety. If our second nickel is a better ballplayer, then (he will) learn how to play safety. Our kids really have embraced that, but it’s easier when everybody’s in the same room so you can talk through it.

What does Sterns do for an encore?
Texas safety Caden Sterns was one of the best freshmen in the country in 2018, finishing sixth on the team with 62 tackles, three tackles for loss and four interceptions. For his efforts, Sterns earned Freshman All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America.

So now what? How does he improve on one of the best seasons by a Texas freshman in years?

Orlando said his hope is that his young star, who suffered what has been called a “low-grade high ankle sprain” in Saturday’s scrimmage, doesn’t try to become something he isn’t, and simply works to hone his craft by learning from game experience and from those around him.

“I think just continue to be a pro,” Orlando said when asked what he would like to see from Sterns in 2019. “He’s still a young guy. I think you (media) guys — when you were young reporters, in comparison to when you get a little bit older — there’s a lot of things that you do different now. So (Sterns needs to) get with Brandon Jones, know how those older guys prepare, be really efficient.

“But to me, it’s just playing loose and free — I think that’s when he’s at his best, when he’s not out there thinking, when he can just hunt the ball up. It’s going to just take some time for him to learn how to do that consistently. He’s got the talent — there’s no doubt about it. But sometimes it’s just going to take some time for him to learn. But he’s got a great group to learn from.”
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