BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — The nondescript office is tucked away in the Camp Randall Stadium weight room complex. There's nothing on the walls to identify the 24-year-old former player seated at his desk. But once he smiles and laughs, the space is taken over by Chris Orr's boundless energy and presence.

After it was pointed out that there was no nameplate on the door, and only a small printed "welcome" on a dry erase board leftover from the last office holder, he said, "You don't need to know it's mine, you just need to know this is an office where you can come in and have a conversation.

"I'm glad I'm in the weight room just because I'm able to see the guys more. The strength staff is who you spend the most time with when you're a player. But I actually don't sit in here (the office) all day just because I know where the guys are going to hang out.

"I'll go down to the player's lounge an hour before meetings. Or after practice, I'll go down to the locker room. I know that's where they're going to be, and you want to talk to them in their most comfortable setting. I don't want them to come in here and feel like I'm their therapist or anything."

After winning over Badgers fans with his hustle and enthusiasm as an undersized inside linebacker who overcame a knee injury early in his career and bloomed into a fierce pass rusher as a senior, Orr has returned to the football program in a new capacity: Director of Player Development.

"I look at it as I'm kind of a bridge — a bridge between the players and the administrative staff, which includes the coaches," he said. "I can help these guys out in ways that a coach may not be able to based on the fact that I was just here, I was just literally in their shoes, both on and off the field.

"Any question they may have, or anything I can help with, they can come to me."

There was no doubt in Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst's mind that Orr was ideally qualified for what he envisioned from the role. And he told him so in September when Orr and his wife, Thalia, were on campus to celebrate her birthday at their favorite local restaurant.

"We had been talking a couple of times a week — just talking ball, just talking life," said Orr, who stayed in touch with Chryst while living in Dallas, Texas. "When I came up here, I went and saw Coach Chryst and he was like, 'Hey, I've got a position for you, I think you'd be really good at it.'"

The timing was perfect for Orr, who had been released by the Carolina Panthers in late May. An undrafted free agent, Orr shuttled between the practice squad and 53-man roster and was active for three games during the 2020 season. Nothing materialized from a few workouts with other NFL teams.

Although he felt like he got a fair shake, he said, "I'm definitely not satisfied. I wouldn't say that chapter is completely closed. It was something you dream about since you first picked up a ball. It was a little different and surreal just because of COVID. Gamedays were different.

"But that's still your job. Football is a job. It's just what you love to do."

Most of UW's current players needed no introduction to Orr, who wore No. 54 as a Badger.

"I played with half of these guys and helped recruit the rest of them," said Orr, who joined the staff on Oct. 1. "It brings me a lot of joy to see how they've blossomed and developed — seeing them make plays they would dream about and talk about with me when I was playing. I'm proud of them.

"Initially, no one knew that I came back with a position. They just thought I was back in town. That way it was real organic. They were coming up to me with any and every question, whether it be about the NFL, their lives after football, or just their time here and how to take full advantage of it.

"I've tried to float around to the different position groups and get to actually learn about them and know the players just like I was their teammate. I just feel that you can't help anybody unless you know them and the type of person that they are. I'm still in the process of learning everybody.

"But I've definitely tried to make an impression on them. I think the younger players were a little nervous initially just because they didn't know me personally. Many have told me how they watched me play here and that definitely makes me feel old. I'm like, 'That was just two years ago.'"

During the 2019 season, which ended with a Rose Bowl appearance, Orr had a career-high 78 tackles, two fewer than the team leader Jack Sanborn and two more than his close friend, outside linebacker Zack Baun. Orr was turned loose as a blitzer and ended up with 11.5 sacks. Baun had 12.5.

"What I've missed most is my teammates," Orr said. "I miss the locker room time with them, all the jokes, all the little fun experiences. Those are the things that will stick with me forever, even more than some of the plays I've made on the field. For me, it's, 'How do your teammates remember you?'

"It could be something as small as a joke in practice or a tough workout that we all got through together and somebody said something outlandish to get us going. Those are the things that you remember the most and those are the things that I still cherish.

"But now I'm developing new relationships. I love the Wisconsin football program. When you play here, it's your responsibility not only to uphold the standard but to push it to new heights. That's something I need to do coming back here in this position."

College football is changing rapidly with Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal. Orr knows that he has to be up to speed in those areas, and others, when reaching out to student-athletes. So, in fact, he can push that standard to new heights, he said, "And make an impression on their lives."

When Orr was a fifth-year senior, Leo Chenal was a true freshman.

Referencing his return in player development, Chenal said, "He has been really helpful for all of us. He's someone that is a master of the game. He's the smartest guy I know. He's really just a friend and definitely someone you can trust.

"If you want the definition of a leader, it's Chris Orr."

Paying back the compliment to Chenal, Orr said, "He's a beast. He does a lot of things that you just can't teach. That's what the inside linebacker position is. It's kind of like, 'Either you have it or you don't.' I kind of look at it like a running back. I think everybody does it in a different way.

"For Leo, he's 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, athletic and strong, and he's just running through everybody. I'm definitely proud of him because when he first came in here, you could definitely see that he had all the potential in the world. He was just a little raw. But, man, he's putting it all together now."

Sanborn and Orr built a strong bond as tandem starters, partners. And it still remains.

"I love Jack, I'm super proud of Jack," Orr said. "From the moment that he came in as a freshman, he has steadily improved. I feel like he has made a key play in every game that might not be the flashiest but it's definitely a big play in terms of the flow of the game and helping us get a W.'

"I just love the way they feed off each other," Orr said of Sanborn and Chenal. "That's important, especially within our scheme, a 3-4 scheme. It's just you two sitting there in the box. The more you know the guy next to you, the better the defense is, the more plays you can make.

"Leo is a hammer. Jack is real fluid. They know how to complement each other really well."

Another Jack — Jack Cichy — has also been a resource for the players. And Orr. Going into 2016, they were UW's starting inside linebackers. But Orr blew out his ACL on the first play of the opener against LSU at Lambeau Field. Cichy went to the sideline with an injury seven games into the season.

"Me and Cich talk and hang out every day, and it feels like we're back to our playing days together," Orr said. "It actually feels a lot like that year ('16) when we were both injured and helping out the team. We got really close during that time. And we're getting close again now."

After an abbreviated, injury-checkered NFL career, Cichy came back to Madison to train.

"Just seeing those two guys around here," Chenal said of Orr and Cichy, who earned a Super Bowl LV ring from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, "you have two legends of Wisconsin football, especially legends of the linebacker room. I still need to get my picture taken with both of them."

That can be arranged. So can wall hangings for Orr's office.

"I definitely need to put something up there for sure," Orr said with a sigh. "I could have a big picture of the 2019 team. I'd just love to have pictures from all my years here that would describe me. Or maybe a jersey. When I look at my jersey, it brings back the memories of the guys I played with."

His office door will be open — open to encouraging and enhancing memories for another generation. It's his way of upholding a standard that he helped sustain under Chryst, who once said of Orr's influence, "We're all going to be better long after he leaves because we've been impacted by him."

It's why Chryst welcomed him back with open arms. And why Orr accepted the offer to get his feet wet in player development, however to be defined, with the belief that he can make a difference. The best thing about this job assignment? He doesn't have to be anybody but himself.