Badgers' Chris Borland leads the team on and off the field

MADISON (WITI) -- Badgers linebacker Chris Borland is known for his performance on the field -- but it's the good things he is doing off the field that are also turning heads.

Borland is feared by his opponents on the helm, and he's been called by his own head coach the best linebacker in the country.

However, Borland plays another role when wearing red and white.

"Since I've walked in here, I've seen great leadership. Last summer or two summers ago I watched him lead a team that I was trying to play, and it's done nothing but grow on me," Badgers' Coach Gary Andersen said.

Borland seems to lead by example. When asked about Andersen's comments on him being a leader, he stayed humble giving his teammates all the credit. He then said it was a group effort by the seniors to get the underclassmen to forget the tragic loss against Arizona State in mid-September.

"We all made sure guys were calm. Frustration has a tendency to bleed into the weak. We made sure they knew it's over. It's time to move on. After that it was simple. You focus on your game plan. You focus on practice -- those boring things, and you have to do them well," Borland said.

Borland seems to do everything well. He isn't just a leader on the field. In fact, Borland collected over 100 volunteer hours in his first four years with the Badgers, and this summer, he decided to go above and beyond adding 60 more entering his senior year.

"He loves the game of football. Right now he leads the team in community service hours. He's a senior. He doesn't have to do that stuff. He does it because he loves Wisconsin and he loves football. He's a leader and our young kids learn so much from him it's amazing. Tremendous, tremendous leader," Andersen said.

When asked about his community service hours, Borland stayed humble again, saying it's all his teammates' doing.

"We bond together more. It's a testament of the type of guys we have here, and the Athletic Department does a great job of getting guys involved in the community. It's a fun group to be a part of and I'm proud of it," Borland said.

Borland visits local elementary schools, helps with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and is a part of Uplifting Athletics.