Wisconsin Football: Linebacker Chris Orr
The next edition of the Wisconsin Football player spotlight series is on junior ILB Chris Orr. Orr is another important piece to the Wisconsin defense.
Wisconsin football linebacker Chris Orr is often a forgotten linebacker at Wisconsin. All-American T.J. Edwards headlines a talented and deep linebacker group in Madison. Ryan Connelly, who was a 2017 Big Ten Honorable Mention, is also ahead of Orr.
It seems like a lifetime ago when Orr was bursting onto the scene and playing in Big Ten games. He started six games during his freshman season. According to his bio, Orr was sixth on the team in tackles with 46, including 2 tackles for a loss. He also recorded half a sack.
High School
If you look at his high school stats, his productivity his freshman year shouldn’t come as a shock. Orr came out of DeSoto High school in Texas. During his junior year, he tallied 172 tackles and added eight forced fumbles. In his senior season he had 183 tackles, four forced fumbles, an interception and two defensive touchdowns. He was a tackling machine, just like his brother, Zach Orr, who had 132 tackles for the Baltimore Ravens in 2016.
Coming out of high school, Orr wasn’t a highly touted prospect. Exactly what Wisconsin football is all about. He was a 3-star inside linebacker according to 247 Sports composite. He held five offers from Wisconsin, Arkansas, Kansas, Nevada and North Texas.
https://twitter.com/Chris_Guwap/status/563036067562287105
Injury
Coming off of a solid freshman season, there were some high expectations for Orr. He was going to be a big part of the highly skilled linebacking corp that included Edwards, and former Badgers Vince Biegel and T.J. Watt.
Unfortunately, on the very first defensive snap of the year against LSU, Orr went down with a knee injury and was lost for the entire 2016-2017 season. Luckily, he was able to save a year of eligibility after being awarded a medical redshirt.
Luckily for Wisconsin, walk-on sophomore linebacker Ryan Conelly stepped in and played nicely. He played well enough to earn a lot of playing time during the 2017 season as well.
Sophomore Year
Coming back from a major knee injury can derail a player’s career. Orr came all the way back from his knee injury at Lambeau Field to play his sophomore season. Orr made 36 tackles his sophomore year. Although his stats dropped from his freshman season, he still found a way to make an impact, like this key interception against Nebraska.
With a linebacking group that has an All-American and another All-Big Ten player, it is tough to get major playing time. This is a classic case of a “good problem to have.” Even when Edwards leaves after this season, Wisconsin will be in good hands with Chris Orr.
Next: Five Badgers who are primed to have a breakout season
If Orr stays healthy this season, I’d look for another productive season from Chris Orr and this Wisconsin defense.