Todd Orlando joins on as USU defensive coordinator

Two months after being hired on as head football coach, Matt Wells finally has his defensive coordinator. And by the looks of things, it was worth the wait! Wells had said something along the lines of, "Why make a good hire today when I could make a great one tomorrow?"

After losing a defensive coordinator responsible for leading one of the best defenses in the country in Dave Aranda, the pressure was on to make this hire count, and from looking at things, this appears to be a home run!

Todd Orlando joins the staff, adding what looks to be another defensive ace to the mix. In his career he's coached a top 10 defense in two different seasons, been in the top 30 another time, been to a BCS bowl, and spent the majority of his career coaching at a level on par with what the Mountain West looks to be.

Orlando's time at Connecticut should bring a handful of new recruiting ties to areas around the Big East, or at least what used to be the Big East. More importantly though, his two years at Florida International should bring a little bit more to work with from one of the most crucial recruiting areas in the country.

For right now, not a ton is known about Orlando or his coaching style, but more will likely surface in the coming weeks, or at worst, by the time spring practices are underway. To have someone with his track record to go along with the returning talent on the defense, it looks like an all-around great hire.

With Orlando handling the defensive coordinator duties, as well as coaching safeties, the only position coach still needed is a running backs coach and the staff will be complete.