TCU safety Nick Orr on Baylor fight: ‘I had to defend myself’

TCU safety Nick Orr, suspended for the first half of the Big 12 championship game because of his role in a fight against Baylor, said he was defending himself and “did what I felt like I had to do.”

Orr said he was kicked in the ribs while he was on the ground in the Nov. 24 mass scuffle and can still feel pain from that.

“That’s just now starting to go away,” he said Sunday at the Alamo Bowl.

Orr and two Baylor players were disciplined by the Big 12 after the league reviewed video of the incident and saw Orr throw a punch.

“They made the decision, and that’s just what it is,” Orr said. “I just did what I felt like I had to do. I felt like I had to defend myself in that situation. That’s what happened for me.”

TCU linebacker Ty Summers said Orr was “getting jumped.”

“That’s why you saw me — I grabbed him to get him out of there, because he was getting jumped,” Summers said. “So that’s really unfortunate. But the Big 12’s got to handle it the way they’ve got to handle it.”

Orr expressed gratitude that TCU coach Gary Patterson believed his word about the fighting.

“I knew he was going to have my back on something like that,” Orr said. “He understood everything, understood the situation. He knows the type of person I am. I’m not out there trying to fight and do that stuff.”

Orr has started every game the past three seasons except the Big 12 championship game. He is third on the team in tackles and the active leader in interceptions with eight.

“That’s something hard to do, play every week, be healthy and start every game and do it for three years,” Orr said. “I’m proud of something like that.”

The fight suspension stopped his starting streak at 38 games.

“It was pretty tough just sitting in the locker room by myself watching on TV and knowing you can’t do anything to help and it’s the Big 12 championship game,” he said. “Just knowing you have to sit there and watch, it’s hard.”

This story was originally published December 24, 2017 at 5:20 PM with the headline "TCU safety Nick Orr on Baylor fight: ‘I had to defend myself’."