ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Dan Orlovsky is still earning a paycheck in the NFL and not done playing football yet. He is cognizant of his future, though, and knows his years left in the league are winding down.

This was part of his reasoning for returning to the Detroit Lions this offseason, to come back to where it all started. It wasn't necessarily a goal to come full circle, but the belief that the Lions would be a good team -- and for once, Orlovsky wanted to be on a good team.

Now, he's also looking to his post-football future. The backup quarterback was one of 25 players selected to participate in the NFL's Broadcast Boot Camp this week at NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey -- somewhat of a crash course on what it could take to make the move from playing football to discussing it every day on television or radio.

Orlovsky, a University of Connecticut graduate, has always considered it as a potential second career, so he filled out the application and submitted a résumé.

"Throughout interviews and whatnot, they've said, 'Hey, you're really good at that,'" Orlovsky said. "I'm going to give it a try and see if I like it and if something can come from it and meet some people and really just challenge myself and experience it.

"Who knows what can come from it in the future? I've always enjoyed the broadcasting and that people can express football to people who may not understand it on an X's and O's level, a schematic level, a Monday-through-Saturday level. I can appreciate those people."

There are hints Orlovsky, one of the better quotes and nicer guys in the Detroit locker room, will make a smooth transition to television. He is clearly comfortable when he is speaking, be it about football, his family or anything else you might ask him about.

He has knowledge of the game as a quarterback and as someone who has been in the league for 10 seasons. Frankly, he also has the look that will translate well to TV. Then there are his hands.

Even when he was discussing the broadcast boot camp and his potential future career, his excitement was evident. His hands started moving. He felt completely at ease during the entire situation.

That's something television coaches tell you. Be comfortable. Be knowledgeable. Don't be afraid to let your hands move while you talk because you're relating to the viewer and making the viewer feel as if the conversation is more intimate -- between the analyst and an individual viewer -- instead of the reality of a broad audience.

Orlovsky has some of that down already and planned on picking up more at the broadcast boot camp this week. He is one of two players currently on a team, along with Mike Adams, to participate in the program. Former Lions players Dre' Bly and Tyoka Jackson were also on the list of selected participants.

This is Orlovsky's first shot at his future, though.

"I've always had an intriguing viewpoint on the broadcasting world and I know that I don't have 10 more years left to play, so I want to start preparing and planning for that," Orlovsky said. "I've been around football a long time and understand the game, X's and O's wise and schematically, so I feel like I can bring that to the table and express that to people that may not.

"It keeps me close to the game. I'm certainly intrigued by it and want to try it out and see if I'm any good at it."