[2][1] On October 15, 1983, he made his first career start in place of the injured senior offensive tackle John Sherlock; Orton had previously been a member of the scout team as an offensive guard due to an NCAA rule that prevented walk-ons from playing without scholarships.
1 ranked team in the country at the time of Orton's first career start, and he had not played tackle since his senior year of high school.
[6] Orton played in ten games for the Detroit Drive of the Arena Football League (AFL) in 1988, recording 11 solo tackles, two assisted tackles, two pass breakups, and two catches for negative one yard and one touchdown.
[8] The Drive finished the season with a 9–3 record and later advanced to ArenaBowl II, where they beat the Chicago Bruisers by a score of 24–13.
[1][8] The Drive finished with a 6–2 record and made it to ArenaBowl IV, defeating the Dallas Texans by a score of 51–27.