Brandon Pili And Marlon Tuipulotu Talk Learning Defensive Schemes via Zoom
When spring practice was canceled due to COVID-19, defensive coordinator Todd Orlando had to get creative. USC players adapted, learning Orlando's new defense via Zoom. In a press conference on Wednesday, Orlando mentioned that his defensive scheme is "95% installed". Orlando went on to mention, "The meat and potatoes of this package is done," he said. "You like to get that done before the first day of live football, because you don't want to have to install stuff if you're asking somebody to run as fast as they can."
The question is, was this virtual model sustainable for players to fully absorb Orlando's new defensive strategy?
Brandon Pili, defensive lineman for the trojans, mentioned that learning via zoom was tough, but with in person practices underway things are starting to click.
"I feel like I'm more of a hands-on learner, so I'm starting to see the defense more and starting to run through it. I'm definitely getting the plays down better and it's helping me a lot more than just seeing it through Zoom,".
Marlon Tuipulotu, defensive lineman, agreed with Pili, "I'm more of a hands on learner too. It was good to go over zoom cause would meet everyday and go over the plays constantly, so that was good to do. So once we got on the field it was pretty easy to go over our steps and plays and all that, so it was good."
Todd Orlando looks to bring more physicality to USC's defense this year. During his time as defensive coordinator at Texas, his defense forced 65 turnovers and ranked in the top 10 nationally for rushing defense (2017).
All eyes on are Todd Orlando and the USC defense this year as they look to improve their rankings from last season. November 7th will be the first testament to what Todd Orlando can do with this USC defense going forward.
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