Prairie View looks to coordinator to revive offense

Prairie View A&M offensive coordinator Mark Orlando^[1] probably doesn't expect Bethune-Cookman's defensive coaches to be surprised by much of what they see from his playbook today at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

After all, Bethune-Cookman saw it firsthand last season when Orlando ran its offense.

However, it proved to be a short look. Orlando orchestrated the Wildcats^[2]' quick transformation into one of the premier offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2010 before leaving after just one season to join Heishma Northern's first-year staff at Prairie View.

As fate would have it, Orlando had to wait less than a year to face his former team. Prairie View was invited in December to participate in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge against Bethune-Cookman, the defending black college national champion.

That scenario provided Orlando with perhaps the weirdest twist of his 32-year coaching career.

"It feels a little awkward because I was there for just one year," Orlando, 58, said. "We had so much success that one year, and then to leave and all of a sudden open up against that team. ... I don't know too many coaches who have ever done that."

Orlando hopes his spread offense will provide the same quick fix at Prairie View that it did at Bethune-Cookman a year ago.

A season before he arrived at Bethune-Cookman, the Wildcats were 99th in the FCS in total offense (271.1 yards per game), 101st in scoring offense (15.8 points per game) and 112th in passing offense (119.3 ypg) en route to a 5-6 finish. Bethune-Cookman went 10-2 under first-year coach Brian Jenkins^[3] in 2010 on the strength of an offense that was second in scoring (38.2 ppg), 12th in total yards (425.6), 13th in rushing (212.8) and 47th in passing (212.8).

Prairie View had a lackluster offense last season, ranking 87th in total yards (317) and 102nd in rushing (94.8) after finishing in the top 50 in those categories a year ago. Those numbers were part of the reason Northern hired Orlando as a replacement for Michael Bryant, who left in December to follow former Panthers coach Henry Frazier III to North Carolina Central.

Orlando will have to work with inexperienced players, particularly at quarterback, running back and offensive line.



The Panthers, who return four offensive starters, plan to play two quarterbacks in the early going, with senior Jonathan Troast^[4] set as the starter and freshmen Jerry Lovelocke and Deauntre Smiley vying for the No. 2 spot.

The Panthers could be in for some growing pains, but Northern is confident Orlando will be able to quickly right the ship.

"He was national assistant coach of the year in some publications, and that's big," said Northern, who played defensive back at Southern University in the early 1990s while Orlando was an assistant coachthere. "I look forward to having him on board and letting him to do his thing on that side of the ball."

ronnie.turner@chron.com^[5]

References

1. ^{^} Mark Orlando (www.chron.com)
2. ^{^} Wildcats (www.chron.com)
3. ^{^} Brian Jenkins (www.chron.com)
4. ^{^} Jonathan Troast (www.chron.com)
5. ^{^} ronnie.turner@chron.com (www.chron.com)