MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Badgers opened up their fourth spring practice to media members on Tuesday morning, and head coach Paul Chryst, senior linebacker Chris Orr and junior running back Jonathan Taylor all met with reporters after the session to talk about the start of spring camp. BadgerBlitz.com was there for all of the action, and our notebook from their media availability is included below.

-- It’s not a secret that the Badgers are going to be working with plenty of new faces on the defensive side of the ball in 2019 - that’s only natural after you lose several multi-year starters and vocal team leaders like linebacker T.J. Edwards and safety D’Cota Dixon. But rising senior linebacker Chris Orr told reporters that he likes what he has seen from the players who have stepped in to larger roles so far this spring - a hunger that could help the Badgers get themselves back to the heights they expect to reach every year after last season’s 8-5 finish.

“I see hunger,” Orr said on Tuesday after practice. “New faces, a different type of hunger. The guys I played with before when I was younger, they were here three years straight, four years straight, but it’s a different hunger. Guys are eager to play. Guys are eager to earn the trust of the team and the defense. There’s definitely excitement.”

-- Asked about his 15-pound weight loss between last season and this spring, Orr said it was a result of a healthier diet and getting a chance to run a lot more than usual while getting plenty of special teams snaps last year. Orr is now listed at 217 pounds, and he said he thinks he has managed to gain some speed while maintaining his strength - something he’ll need to take on players over the middle at inside linebacker.

“Oh no I got stronger,” Orr said when asked if there might be a downside to the weight change. “The number on the scale doesn’t correlate to you being able to move around. I’m not worried about that at all … I feel way faster. I’m not as tired anymore - my body doesn’t get beat up as much, I can recover faster.”

-- Asked about incoming freshman linebacker Leo Chenal, who was listed at 6-foot-2 and weighed in at 239 pounds at the start of spring camp, Orr said he was definitely impressed with how physically prepared Chenal was to join the team a semester early. Chenal, the younger brother of UW fullback John Chenal, was working with the second team defense at inside linebacker on Tuesday alongside Mike Maskalunas - behind Orr and sophomore Jack Sanborn.

“That boy is strong, man. He’s strong,” Orr said. “He’s definitely making some strides. I’m definitely excited to see how he progresses from now all the way through fall camp through to the season.”

-- The Badgers also moved former safety Seth Currens to inside linebacker during the offseason, and Orr had an interesting comparison ready for the 6-foot-3, 209-pound junior.

“He’s fitting in well, man,” Orr said of Currens. “He kind of reminds me of a younger Jack (Cichy). He’s real skinny, kinda slipping in between guys. He’s definitely fitting in well. Exciting to have someone like that in the room to bring a different toolset.”

-- When asked about how redshirt freshman running back Nakia Watson had improved over the last year, Jonathan Taylor said that the 5-foot-11, 232-pound Watson looks more comfortable in his assignments after learning the playbook during his first semester on campus.

“He’s been trusting himself a lot more,” Taylor said of Watson. “He sees some holes, he hits (them) faster. The biggest thing is just seeing him play faster. Last year he was kind of learning.”

After the departure of senior running backs Taiwan Deal and Chris James at the end of last year the Badgers will need another running back to step up who can take some of the workload off of Taylor - and Watson, along with senior Bradrick Shaw (if the latter is healthy) could compete for reps behind Taylor this fall.

-- Paul Chryst said he likes where his team is at after a week’s worth of practices, in part because there are a lot of position groups that are looking to take a step forward and yet have a decent amount of in-game experience. Chryst pointed to his defensive backs, who are looking to improve in 2019 after several players got their feet wet in playing college football. Now that they have a season under their belt, Chryst wants to see what guys like Caesar Williams, Faion Hicks, Deron Harrell, Madison Cone and others can do to take their games to the next level.

“I think this is always a good spring, when you’ve got some experience and yet you’re still early in the process,” Chryst said after practice. “That’s a group that can, should be, and I think is making good strides. It means something, having gone through it once.”

-- Don’t expect Chryst to make any pronouncements about his team’s quarterback battle this spring, but he did say that incoming freshman Graham Mertz has done everything he’s wanted him to do so far after joining the team a semester early for spring practices.

“It’s been great having Graham here,” Chryst said. “The more you get to know him the more you like him and you’re impressed with how he handles everything. He’s approaching it the right way, studying it, learning it, going out … he’s done some good and he’s not afraid to make a mistake. I think if you have that approach then you can get better. And he’s done a nice job with the team of getting to know him, allowing them to get to know him. He’s been doing everything you’d want him to do, certainly.”

Mertz took second team reps along with Danny Vanden Boom and Chase Wolf during Tuesday’s practice - with junior Jack Coan getting the lion’s share of the first team work. If Mertz (or anyone else) is going to put themselves in a position to challenge Coan for the starting job left vacant by Alex Hornibrook’s transfer they will need to squeeze all the growth they can out of the reps they get.

C Tyler Biadasz (out for spring)

LT Cole Van Lanen (out for spring)

OL Jason Erdmann (limited)

RB Bradrick Shaw (knee, limited)

WR Danny Davis (leg, out)

TE Luke Benzschawel (leg, out)

DE Garrett Rand (out)

CB Madison Cone (out)

OLB Christian Bell (out)

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.