Prairie View A&M will feature a new look this season under first year head coach Heishma Northern and new offensive coordinator Mark Orlando, the Panthers will feature an up-tempo fast paced spread offense.
Orlando a Florida State graduate, has worked his way up the coaching ranks. Orlando started out in the high school ranks as he began his career coaching for Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Florida.
He then coached at Florida A&M for six years helping the team to a Division 1-AA National Championship, Orlando was then offered a position at Tennessee State where coached for another six years including a year at offensive coordinator in his final season with the Tigers.
He left Tennessee state to coach at Winston-Salem State where coached for two years under Pete Richardson, the pair then left to pursue an opportunity with Southern University where Orlando was with the team for eight years helping lead pave the way to three Black College Football National Championships during his tenure with the Jaguars.
After his eight years at Southern, he coached at Texas Southern for two years before returning to Southern for an additional four years. He had a brief stint for Bethune-Cookman College, where he had one of the Football Championship Subdivision’s best offenses under his watch, finishing second in scoring (38.17 points per game), 12th in total yards (425.6 per game) and 13th in rushing (212.8 yards per game) en route to a 10-2 finish and share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.
Orlando brings an extensive amount of experience in the college ranks to the Panthers including several championships under his belt. His offense is a fast paced high tempo spread offense
The biggest change you will notice for the Panthers this season will be the tempo. The Panthers have tried to establish a fast tempo early on in practice this spring, they are hoping to average about four plays per minute this season.
“We wanted to establish the tempo early as we ran three to four plays per minute,” first year head coach Heishma Northern said. “We didn't have a lot of mental mistakes but we still have a long way to go from a conditioning standpoint and knowing the plays.”
“We want the players to get used to playing at a faster pace, knowing the schemes, personnel groups and packages so they can run them efficiently when called upon.”
The Panthers will unveil their new look offense for the first time when Prairie View A&M opens the 2011 season against Bethune-Cookman in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Sept. 4 at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
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