Chris Orr came to Madison pretty set with the idea of redshirting during his freshman season for the Wisconsin football team.

But days before the Badgers’ season opener against Alabama this Saturday, Orr finds himself listed No. 2 on the depth chart at inside linebacker, behind reshirt freshman T.J. Edwards and junior Leon Jacobs.

Edwards (shoulder) and Jacobs (foot) both exited the third day of training camp with injuries, all of a sudden leaving a hole at a position that saw Marcus Trotter and Derek Landisch graduate from.

That’s when Orr, a three-star recruit from DeSoto, Texas had his chance, and he made the most of it.

“I was extremely excited,” Orr said. “My first practice, I was probably a little too excited … I’m not the nervous type, but I was just excited to show what I could do and try to earn my teammates trust.

“I’m just trying to play to the best of my abilities, fit into the scheme the best I can.”

Edwards and Jacobs have returned to the practice and are expected to start Saturday, but their absence created opportunities for guys like Orr and another true freshman, Alec Ingold.

The reps with the first-team were not only pivotal for Ingold from a valuable experience standpoint, but the fact that inside linebacker is a completely new position for him.

As a quarterback and three-star recruit coming out of Bay Port High, Ingold rushed for 2,324 yards and 29 touchdowns on the season and completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 1,411 yards and 15 touchdowns.

“Moving from offense to defense is one thing, moving from high school to college was another thing, then moving to the one’s was a big learning curve,” Ingold said.

“I just wanted to — with every rep — focus on what I was doing and then I made some plays down the road and they bumped me up,” he added. “I just tried to take advantage of it.”

Lining up alongside each other, Orr and Ingold developed an evident bond, one they both relied on. They’re both about to start college. Orr is more than 1,000 miles from home. Ingold is learning a new position.

But even a mention of Ingold lights up Orr’s face.

“That’s my bang bro!” Orr. “That’s my brother, man.”

Ingold said Orr’s sense of humor helps keep life and football light.

“He’s a funny guy,” Ingold said. “Love talking to him, love cracking jokes with him. On and off the field he’s a really nice guy and we got a great bond.”

But they didn’t get the time on the field just because they’re friends and crack each other up.

They earned those reps, defensive coordinator Dave Aranda said, because of their football instincts.

“They’re both football savvy guys. It comes easy to them,” Aranda said. “They always have that intelligence that’s really high. For that to come naturally to you is such a great asset. It puts you light years ahead.”