MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst, offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph, and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard all met with local reporters on Friday afternoon ahead of UW's upcoming appearance in the 2018 New Era Pinstripe Bowl. BadgerBlitz.com's notebook from the afternoon is included below.

Head coach Paul Chryst announced on Friday that senior inside linebacker Ryan Connelly will miss their upcoming game against Miami in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl after undergoing a procedure to correct a nagging injury that had been bothering him during Wisconsin's regular season. That brings Connelly's college career to an end after a 53-game run with the Badgers that started in 2015. It will be the first game Connelly has missed since the 2015 season when he played as a reserve - he played in all 14 of Wisconsin's games in both 2016 and 2017. Chryst declined to share the nature of Connelly's injury, but said that he didn't think it would stop him from training to catch the eye of an NFL team in next year's draft.

"You feel bad because I know how much he wanted to play in this game," Chryst said after practice on Friday afternoon. "But (he) had been kinda going the last four games working through something, so he got that fixed. He won't be playing."

Junior inside linebacker Chris Orr will take over for Connelly against Miami, pairing up with senior inside linebacker T.J. Edwards in his final game for the Badgers. Chryst said the Badgers are fortunate to have a player like Orr ready to step in for the game - someone with game experience who had his snaps limited by two stellar players above him on the depth chart.

"Part of it is Ryan and T.J. were playing really well," Chryst said of Orr's season. "That's what I love about Chris - he took his energy and put it in to (special) teams and did that and obviously the guy has played a lot of football."

The Badgers moved redshirt freshman Kayden Lyles from the offensive line to defensive end over the summer after a series of injuries struck players the Badgers were counting on to contribute after losing three veterans to graduation last year. The Badgers didn't explicitly say it at the time, but it certainly seemed like a one-year plan for Lyles to help out on defense before switching back to the offensive line - just in time to fill one of the several open starting spots the Badgers will have next year.

"We went in to this season knowing that he'd be going back to offense," Chryst said. "He helped this team out a ton this year, but he'll be on offense (next year)."

Offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph also confirmed that Lyles has gotten some practice reps on the offensive line as the Badgers practice for their upcoming bowl game, but said Lyles will still play defensive end for the Badgers in the Pinstripe Bowl.

It was a move the Badgers had to make a few months ago, but Rudolph said he's excited to see what Lyles can bring to the line at either guard or center next season after learning how defenders will try and disrupt the offensive linemen.

"He was on an internship," Rudolph said. "We said 'Hey, there's an opportunity now to be on the defensive side of the ball and understand defense - and when you come back, the knowledge that can gain from that, alignments, assignments, different techniques that are being utilized, that's something most centers anywhere or most guards any where will never have the experience of."

-- Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said he didn't know if defensive end Garrett Rand would be available to return to the practice field in time for spring camp or if Rand will have to wait until next summer to make his return from an achilles injury he sustained before the start of Wisconsin's 2018 season.

-- Leonhard said defensive end Isaiah Mullens, outside linebackers Izayah Green-May, Noah Burks and Jaylan Franklin, inside linebacker Jack Sanborn, and safety Collin Wilder - a transfer from Houston who had to sit out this season - as players on his side of the ball who stood out during the team's bowl practices.

-- Right tackle David Edwards and center Tyler Biadasz both submitted paperwork to the NFL's college advisory committee to get feedback about whether they should consider leaving school early and declaring for next year's draft. Asked about if Biadasz would be ready for the NFL after just his redshirt sophomore season, Rudolph said he prefers to look at a player's decision in terms of whether they can continue to take steps forward while playing college football.

"On the flip side, you want to say 'Ok, if someone is staying here, can they get better?'" Rudolph said. "That's the way I will always choose to look at it. And I do, I think there are some areas where he can really keep improving. I love where he is, and he wouldn't be out there battling for us if he wasn't ready."

Edwards asked for feedback from the NFL last year, and reportedly received a second-round grade in response.

-- Rudolph also mentioned Lyles, fellow offensive linemen Jason Erdmann and David Moorman, running back Nakia Watson, and quarterbacks Chase Wolf and Danny Vanden Boom as underclassmen who stood out and made plays during the team's young player bowl practices.

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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.