Lucas: Loss of leader Cichy draws linebackers together
August 15, 2017 | Football, Mike Lucas
Season-ending injury to captain emotional, but can be catalyst for defensive depth
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — T.J. Edwards got the bad news directly from Jack Cichy.
"He texted," Edwards said, "and then he came over to my place and we talked about it."
They talked about Cichy's MRI that revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. They talked about how Edwards would have to carry on without him and lead the defense.
Cichy, a senior captain, was emotional, which was not out of character.
"He wears everything on his sleeve," Edwards said.
Cichy has always played linebacker with raw emotion and energy; a fist-pumping emotion that punctuated each of his three consecutive sacks against USC leading to the "Three-Sack Jack" moniker.
"He's always such a positive guy," Edwards said.
But Cichy was expressing a different emotion on the heels of his season-ending injury.
"It was right after he got the result from his MRI and it was an emotional time," Edwards said for context. "He's one of my best friends and to see him hurting like that is tough."
Edwards also struggled.
"Oh, yeah, I was emotional for sure," he said.
A message from @jackCICHY
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A couple of weeks ago, Cichy and Edwards, along with tight end Troy Fumagalli, made up the Wisconsin player contingent for the Big Ten's annual media days and kickoff luncheon in Chicago.
Since the start of training camp, the first-team inside linebackers have been Edwards and Cichy, who missed the final seven games of the 2016 season after tearing a pectoral muscle at Iowa.
"He's a guy who worked so hard last year to stay with us," Edwards said of Cichy's proactive role on the sideline as mentor/coach after the injury. "To see him go through all of that …"
"All of that" would be all those hours of rehab to get back in the lineup. Knowing Cichy felt like he was in the best shape of his life and knowing now it was all for naught obviously troubled Edwards.
"It's just really hard to see him go down like that (with a torn ACL)," he said.
They talked some more in the apartment about the ramifications of the injury before Edwards suggested, "Hey, Cich, let's go over and see what Chris is doing and let him know."
Chris is Chris Orr, who tore his ACL on the first defensive snap of the 2016 opener against LSU.
"We're neighbors," said Edwards.
So, they went over and broke the bad news to Orr, who is likely to replace Cichy on the No. 1 defense.
"And the three of us talked about it," Edwards said.
Through it all, he stressed, "We were trying to embrace Jack."
Orr reacted predictably to the suddenness of it all. And the sadness.
"I was shocked and I hurt for him," he said. "I know when I did mine (ACL), I couldn't even walk. So, I didn't think that was a possibility for what he did. I thought maybe he just sprained ligaments.
"At the most, I thought maybe it was a meniscus tear. That's what everybody else was thinking because he finished practice (Tuesday) and then practiced the next day (Wednesday).
"It was like, 'Oh, he's good. Won't be nothing. Might miss a little bit of camp, but it won't be anything serious.' Then when they both walked into my room and told me, I was at a loss for words."
That injuries are accepted as part of the game is more than a cliché. It's a reality for the players.
"You never know when your last play is going to be," said Edwards.
"The game doesn't care about your story," Orr said. "It can happen to anyone at any time."
Just three weekends away... #OnWisconsin || #Badgers
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) August 12, 2017
Cichy had surgery on Friday and watched some of Saturday's practice. He was on crutches and accompanied by his dad, Steve, who played defensive back at Notre Dame in the late '70s.
Former Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen and former defensive coordinators Dave Aranda and Justin Wilcox have all reached out to Jack Cichy, underlining the respect that he commanded.
Edwards and Orr were both cheered by Cichy's mere presence at the Saturday morning practice on the grass field north of Camp Randall. He didn't stay long. But his appearance made a statement.
"He even coached us up a little bit," Orr said. "It was good knowing that he's still got a smile on his face."
"Cich is not going away," said Edwards. "He's a guy who's always there for us. If I need help with something, he'll be more than willing to help. That's the kind of guy he is."
Interjected Orr, "Jack is still going to be leading us, motivating us, stuff like that."
But the truth is the Badgers will have to move on without No. 48 in the defensive huddle.
"We do have some guys who have played a lot of football and that helps a lot," said Edwards, a redshirt junior from Lake Villa, Illinois. "We still have good depth."
"They're playing at a high level right now." The wide receivers have caught Jim Leonhard's attention in camp.
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) August 12, 2017
Edwards, the defensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl, has started 25 of 26 career games. He's one of only six UW linebackers since 1990 to be the leading tackler in back-to-back seasons.
The 6-foot, 223-pound Orr started six games as a true freshman in 2015. Orr was granted a medical redshirt for last season and has three years of eligibility.
"When I went down against LSU," said Orr, who's from DeSoto, Texas, "everybody had to step up. Everybody had to play a little better. It's the same situation when T.J. was hurt last fall camp."
Edwards injured his foot in August and was sidelined for the LSU opener at Lambeau Field. After Orr went out with the knee injury, Ryan Connelly stepped up and made seven tackles.
Connelly, a redshirt junior from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, ended up starting seven games. Although he has been limited by a leg injury the last week or so, he's expected to be back at full strength soon.
Last spring, the Badgers practiced, for the most part, without Cichy, Edwards, Orr and Connelly. As a result, Mike Maskulunas, Griffin Grady and Arrington Farrar, a converted safety, got valuable reps.
Edwards pointed out that Maskulunas, a redshirt freshman walk-on from Long Grove, Illinois, and Grady, a sophomore from Dublin, Ohio, have each progressed in their development.
Everybody must come of age, he implied. Edwards turned 21 on Saturday.
"We feel for our man (Cichy)," he said. "We just lost a captain. But things like this happen in football. It's a game that we all chose to play. We're going to move on and be stronger from it."
Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame Two iconic NFL stadiums Oct. 3, 2020 at Lambeau Field Sept. 25, 2021 at Soldier Field
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