Wisconsin’s inside linebackers have had to overcome more than their fair share of injuries over the last few seasons, but that didn’t make it any easier for them to see senior captain Jack Cichy go down with an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament last week.
Cichy will miss the entire 2017 season with the ACL injury, which means his college career very well could be over unless he applies for and receives a waiver from the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility.
And while no one could totally understand how Cichy was feeling in the aftermath of the non-contact injury, fellow inside linebacker Chris Orr said he’s doing his best to help Cichy understand the rehab process he’s facing – less than one year after Orr tore his own ACL in Wisconsin’s first game of the season last year.
“My heart sunk. I was hurting for him,” Orr said when asked how he felt when he heard Cichy would miss the 2017 season. “I just gave him a real big hug. There was nothing I could say.”
“There was nothing anybody could have said to me when I tore mine. I couldn’t put myself in his shoes anyway because he had just come off from missing half of a year. I was fortunate enough to get two snaps – he won’t get to take a single one. It kind of just put things in to perspective.”
Orr, who is primed to take over Cichy’s starting spot and split time with junior Ryan Connelly, said that he told Cichy that the quicker he starts to focus on his rehab, the better.
But no two injuries are the same – a fact that wasn’t lost on Orr, who said that he couldn’t believe Cichy was able to continue practicing on Tuesday after suffering the initial tear, let alone practicing again the next day before getting the diagnosis on Wednesday night when the MRI scan came back.
“I couldn’t imagine it. I could barely move. I couldn’t get up. When I extended my leg it was the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt,” Orr said of how he felt when he tore his ACL against LSU last fall. “I don’t know if he tore it in a different spot or wherever, but – Jack can hear this – I’m not going to tell him he’s the toughest guy I’ve ever seen in my life but it was pretty tough. I don’t know how he did it – I know I couldn’t have done it.”
News and Notes
-- It’s safe to say that Wisconsin’s offense feels pretty good about where they’re at after three weeks of camp. Despite losing some key contributors to last year’s team at running back and on the offensive line, wide receiver Jazz Peavy said after practice on Tuesday that he thinks the offense as a whole will boast a lot of playmakers this year, and at the wide receiver position in particular.
“I feel like we’ve got a lot of playmakers, we’ve got a lot of abilities,” Peavy said. “Especially at the wide out position I feel like we’ve got a lot of talent, a lot of guys who can go out and make plays and a lot of guys who can go out in different positions and make those plays. A lot of versatility with our group – even in the backfield, the quarterbacks, the line. I feel like we’ve got it all this year.”
-- The Badgers had the Big Ten Network at practice on Friday night, where they got to watch a full-pads scrimmage under the lights at Camp Randall. Initially it looked like they might have broken some news about the position battle for the backup quarterback job:
However, after practice on Friday Chryst told the assembled media that he has yet to make a decision about if true freshman Jack Coan or redshirt freshman Kare’ Lyles would serve as Alex Hornibrook’s backup at quarterback.
"Haven't made the decision yet and really ... we've got six practices left and both Jack and Kare' are to the point where they just gotta keep growing and learning," Chryst said Friday night. "And I think they're doing the best that they can, which you appreciate. But I don't think either one is at that point where you could just say 'This is where it's at.'"
-- Senior wide receiver George Rushing has missed the last few practices with a leg injury, and was seen at Wisconsin's final open practice of fall camp in a walking boot. Rushing tweeted out that 'Everything happens for a reason' on Friday, and Chryst said that it might be another week or two before Rushing is able to go again. We'll have to wait and see if he will be available for Wisconsin's season opener against Utah State - he was in competition for a significant role in UW's passing game, but for now those reps will likely be split between Quintez Cephus, A.J. Taylor and Kendric Pryor.
--
John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
