Texas DC Todd Orlando Ready to Piledrive Someone

New Texas Football Defensive Coordinator Todd Orlando is as intense as it gets in coaching.

Naturally at the start of WrestleMania Week, we figure that Todd Orlando is ready to piledrive someone, especially after WWE legend The Undertaker visited Texas Football practice last week.

During his media availability last week, Coach Orlando talked about what Undertaker said and how it confirmed what they are trying to do building a new Texas Football culture.

"“That’s pretty cool. He (The Undertaker) talked about his story and that was really cool. He grinded his way to get to where he was at and he’s very proud of us. Even though we weren’t that successful in the last couple of years, he says he still talks to people all the time. And I think that the really good thing that he said to us – we had a little circle drill and then he talked to us – he thought he could feel the energy and that he could feel a little bit of the change. I felt our kids took that as we are starting to flip this over. That was the one thing that I took from it.” – Todd Orlando transcribed by TexasSports.com"

Todd Orlando Talks State of Texas Defense

Coach Orlando was also fired up about getting to work with the Texas Defense in full pads after spring break. Orlando sounds like he wants to jump in the mix and scrap with the defenders if they don’t show improvement.

"“It’s going to take a while. When you come into spring, really when you get to about practice 10, I think practice 10 is about when we can sit back and say: “Oh, okay, we’re not great at this.’ Because you don’t want to fit somebody into a call that they just can’t get. … It’s usually the third scrimmage where you actually see what you have. The first scrimmage, everybody’s nervous and people abandon fundamentals and techniques because you’re away from them. Second scrimmage gets a little bit better and the third scrimmage is when you really get a chance to know what you have.” – Todd Orlando via TexasSports.com"

Coach Orlando echoed sentiments from head coach Tom Herman earlier in the spring about loving what DB P.J. Locke has done this spring. Orlando said Locke has clearly separated himself as the go-to guy to rally the defense.

According to Orlando, Locke is “probably the most impressive kid” on the Texas Defense. He also knows that Locke will take care of any issues that come up that make the coaching staff unhappy, like not practicing correctly.

Orlando is not going to mess around with practice, which is essentially his Tough Enough training ground. He said that’s the “biggest thing we’re working on” – having the mentality to grind, be physical, and communicate “all the time.”

Next: 5 Shockers from Tom Herman on State of UT Football

We’ll see if The Undertaker’s pep talk instilled a desire to grind for the Texas Defense, which struggled mightily last year in Charlie Strong’s last year as head coach. And, we’re pretty sure that if anyone gets out of line on defense this week, they could be facing a Tombstone Piledriver.