Dan Connor (American football)

Early life

Connor was born in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. He attended Strath Haven High School, where he was a four-year starter and was rated the number one linebacker in the country. He was also named to the USA Today Top 25 Supreme Team. He played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

As a junior, he rushed for over 1,500 yards and scored 29 touchdowns. On defense, he had more than 160 tackles to go along with 3 interceptions. As a senior, he rushed 231 times for 1,807 yards and 28 touchdowns, while making 141 tackles, 11 sacks and 3 interceptions.

Connor started in 59 straight games and helped the team achieve a 56–3 record. He finished his high school career with 461 tackles, 38 sacks, 19 interceptions, 591 carries for 4,556 yards and 77 rushing touchdowns. He also practiced basketball and track.

College career

Connor attended Pennsylvania State University, where he played for coach Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2004 to 2007. He earned All-America honors his junior and senior seasons at Penn State and passed Nittany Lion great Paul Posluszny on November 3, 2007, to become first on Penn State's career tackles list.

Connor's game-high nine tackles along with an interception of a Colt Brennan pass in the 2008 Senior Bowl earned him the game's Under Armour Award—essentially the North team's MVP.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Connor's superlative college career led to his #23 ranking on ''Sports Illustrated'''s list of the top 25 2008 NFL draft candidates. He left the NFL Combine after getting sick.

Carolina Panthers (first stint)

Connor was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round (74th overall) of the 2008 NFL draft. Due to the Panthers' wealth of talent at linebacker, Connor played sparingly—mostly on special teams—in the first 3 weeks before a torn ACL suffered during a loss to the Minnesota Vikings ended his season. On September 23, he was placed on the injured reserve list. He had 4 special teams tackles.

In 2009, he played mainly on special teams, collecting 14 special teams tackles (led the team), 19 defensive tackles, one quarterback pressure and one fumble recovery.

In 2010, despite reportedly fielding several trade inquiries during the offseason, the Panthers made it clear Connor would compete for a starting job that season after the team released veteran linebacker Na'il Diggs. He competed for the strongside linebacker position with James Anderson, before he was named the starter at middle linebacker after Jon Beason was moved to weakside linebacker. On November 9, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a fractured hip bone and Beason was moved back to middle linebacker. Connor finished with 60 tackles, one sack, 4 quarterback pressures and one pass defensed.

In 2011, he took over the middle linebacker starter position in the second game after Beason was lost for the year with a torn left Achilles tendon. He was inactive with a shoulder injury against the Detroit Lions. He registered 87 tackles (third on the team), one forced fumble and 3 special teams tackles.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 15, 2012, he was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys to play inside linebacker in the team's 3-4 defense and reuniting him with former Penn State teammate Sean Lee. He became a starter after Lee was lost for the year with a toe injury in the sixth game against the Carolina Panthers. He missed 2 games with a neck injury and was replaced with Ernie Sims. He appeared in 14 games (8 starts), making 58 tackles (3 for loss) and one pass defensed.

On March 11, 2013, Connor was released by the Cowboys.

New York Giants

On March 16, 2013, Connor signed with the New York Giants. On September 12, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a neck injury and Mark Herzlich replaced him as the starter at middle linebacker. On November 4, he was released with an injury settlement.

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

On November 13, 2013, he signed an undisclosed one-year deal to return to the Panthers. He appeared in 5 games as a backup and was not re-signed after the season.

NFL career statistics

Coaching career

In September 2014, Connor was hired as linebacker coach at West Chester University under Bill Zwaan. In January 2016, Connor accepted the head coaching position at Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania. In January 2018, Connor became the defensive coordinator at Widener University.

In February 2022, Connor joined the staff at his alma mater, Penn State as a defensive analyst.

References

References

1. "#40 Dan Connor". [[Pennsylvania State University.
2. (2006-12-14). "Trio of Nittany Lions Earn All-America Honors From The Sporting News". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics.
3. "Tebow, McFadden top All-America team". FoxSports.com.
4. (2008-01-27). "Penn State's Connor captures Senior Bowl Under Armour Award". The Phanatic Magazine.
5. Fernandez, Bernard. (2008-04-23). "Any team will do in NFL draft for Penn State linebacker Connor". Philadelphia Daily News.
6. "Dan Connor Draft and Combine Prospect Profile".
7. "Dan Connor College Football Profile".
8. "Top 25 NFL Draft Candidates for 2008". SI.com.
9. "The real top NFL draft prospects, post-combine".
10. "2008 NFL Draft Listing".
11. Sam Ross, Jr.. "PSU's Connor picked by Panthers, WVU's Slaton picked by Texans". [[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]].
12. Schrager, Josh. (2008-09-23). "Knee injury ends Connor's season". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
13. Yasinskas, Pat. (March 24, 2010). "Panthers turn down Connor trade talk". ESPN.
14. (June 10, 2010). "Beason could move to Davis' spot".
15. (July 29, 2011). "Jon Beason re-ups with Panthers".
16. (September 12, 2011). "Jon Beason out for rest of season".
17. (October 24, 2012). "Dan Connor's 'heart breaks' for Sean Lee".
18. Rosenthal, Gregg. (March 11, 2013). "Dan Connor released on busy day for Dallas Cowboys". NFL.com.
19. (March 16, 2013). "Giants add LB Dan Connor".
20. (September 12, 2013). "Dan Connor (neck) out for season".
21. (November 13, 2013). "Dan Connor returning to Carolina". ESPN.com.
22. (September 12, 2014). "Dan Connor: From NFL to assistant's job at West Chester". [[The Philadelphia Inquirer]].
23. O'Brien, Rick. (January 18, 2018). "Dan Connor leaves Archbishop Carroll football for Widener job".
24. (7 February 2022). "Penn State great Dan Connor among Franklin's three new football analysts". 247Sports.