Chicago Confidential: Chris Orr focused and hungry
July 16, 2019 | Football, Mike Lucas
Senior linebacker’s maturity and charisma in spotlight at Big Ten Media Days
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Sporting a new hairstyle and retooled body, Chris Orr is armed with a renewed commitment and fresh outlook for his fifth and final season as a Wisconsin linebacker.
Leadership. Maturity. Ownership.
Orr touched on each of these topics effectively previewing some of the questions that he's likely to field Thursday and Friday at Big Ten Football Media Days in Chicago.
"I still think I'm goofy," he allowed. "But I've definitely matured in some aspects."
Joining tailback Jonathan Taylor and center Tyler Biadasz at the conference's annual kickoff event, Orr is looking forward to spreading the word on the 2019 Badgers.
"I couldn't be thankful enough," he said, "to be in this position."
Do what ya gotta do for the good photo.... @Chris_Guwap
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) July 16, 2019
After a recent workout, he addressed his development as a leader and how far he has come since starting six games as an energized but wide-eyed freshman out of DeSoto, Texas, a Dallas suburb.
"I remember everything from that year," he said of 2015, "like it was yesterday."
As he spoke, he was standing in front of an evocative billboard message superimposed over an aerial shot of Camp Randall Stadium on a wall outside the locker room.
"Willing To Do" was in gray italic typeface and set over "What You Want To Do" in red lettering.
"That means," he said, "if you have as your goals winning a Big Ten championship or national championship or if your personal goals are winning the Heisman or Butkus, you have to be willing to put the time and work in and you have to be accountable, to do what you want to do.
"It has been a message that we've been preaching to each other.
"Talking as a team, we're saying, 'We're going to make it happen no matter what.'"
But leadership is so much more than just talk, Orr agreed.
"To me, it's doing what you're supposed to do at all points in time," he said. "Not just in the stadium. Not just in the locker room. Not just when you're working out. It's when people see you walking around campus or when you're in class, you're handling your business."
As a fifth-year senior, Orr knows that there are more eyes on him than ever before.
"And I feel people can look to me if things get hard," said Orr, who has dealt with his own gridiron adversity, an ACL injury on the first defensive snap of the 2016 opener. "I don't want to let anyone down and I don't want to give anyone reason to feel like they can slough off."
In his own words, he wants to lead by example, a part of his maturation as a college player.
"Maturity, I feel, is knowing what works best for you — knowing how you fit in the program," Orr said. "It's about having a focus about what you're doing. Every lift. Every run. It's not like you're just working. There's a purpose to it."
Orr is riding herd over some unproven, but talented young athletes at inside linebacker in the two-deep: sophomore Jack Sanborn, junior Mike Maskalunas and freshman Leo Chenal. As a group, they've been tasked with replacing the departed starters, T.J. Edwards and Ryan Connelly.
"I definitely feel a sense of ownership to the linebackers, to the defense and to the team, period," said Orr. "A lot of times they are looking to me and asking me what's going on and I have to have an answer for them.
"I take time with the younger guys a lot more now," he said of his own growth. "I explain to them why we do certain things instead of just telling them, 'This is what you do on this play.'
"I try to reinforce what the coaches are saying about doing your job, doing your 1/11th."
Ready to Jump Around?! 🙌 Join us at Camp Randall! Single-game tickets are on sale now. Want to be there for the action all season long? A limited number of season tickets are still available! 🎟 http://go.wisc.edu/gum1k4
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) July 16, 2019
Last season, the Badgers fell short in many categories resulting in an 8-5 record.
But if asked in Chicago about what happened to a team with such lofty preseason expectations, Orr might take a pass. "I'll probably tell them I don't want to talk about the 2018 Badgers," he said. "I can't say anything more about last year. It's all there — in print and on video. You can see it for yourself.
"My only focus is on the 2019 Wisconsin Badgers."
Orr is hungry, too. Hungrier than ever for positive outcomes as an individual and team.
"If you're starving, you're not just hungry," he claimed, detailing the depth of his hunger. "You don't just want a nibble. You want everybody's plate and everything on their plate."
He got that take from his older brother Zach Orr, a coaching analyst with the Baltimore Ravens.
"We talk all the time," Chris said.
Zach Orr is conversant on the X's and O's. He played linebacker at North Texas for Dan McCarney (the defensive coordinator on Barry Alvarez's first staff at Wisconsin). An undrafted free agent, Orr was named second-team All-Pro after racking up 130 tackles for the Ravens in 2016.
Less than a year later, he was forced to retire from the sport.
Orr had a congenital neck/spine condition. It's no coincidence Chris Orr is wearing No. 54 with the Badgers. That was Zach's number in Baltimore. Besides his bond with Zach, Chris also talks often with his other brothers: Terrance, a high school coach in Texas; and Nick, a former TCU defensive back.
The Orr household has unlimited football resources.
The head of the clan, Terry Orr, is a former NFL tight end.
When Chris Orr left home for the Big Ten, he looked much different than he does today.
"I'm way leaner now than I was then — I'm actually lighter, too, I'm around 220-pounds and it's a different weight, a different way of carrying it for sure," he said. "Physically, I've made a lot of strides staying on top of my diet."
"Livest shoot we ever had" We're coming different in 2019 🔥👀 #OnWisconsin
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) July 15, 2019
Orr has a little different hair style than he has worn in the past.
How would he describe it?
"Fire," he said. "Definitely fly. It's a high-top fade."
Orr has been texting with Nebraska linebacker Mohamed Barry, who will also be in Chicago. They became friends during the recruiting process. Barry, a Georgia native, actually verbally committed to Wisconsin and planned on playing alongside of Orr before decommitting and landing in Lincoln.
"He texted, 'You'd better come spiffy to Big Ten Media Days,'" said Orr, breaking into a grin from ear to ear. "And I've got something that's going to be real nice. No hints."
No fears, either, about taking the stage.
