James Conner (American football)

James Conner
Pittsburgh Panthers No. 24
Position Running back
Class Junior
Career history
College
High school Erie (PA) McDowell
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-05-05) May 5, 1995
Place of birth Erie, Pennsylvania
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 240 lb (109 kg)
Career highlights and awards
  • AFCA 1st team All-American (2014)
  • ACC Player of the Year (2014)
  • ACC Offensive Player of the Year (2014)
  • First-team All-ACC (2014)

James Earl Conner (born May 5, 1995) is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Panthers. In 2014, he garnered AFCA first-team All-American honors and was awarded the ACC Player of the Year.

Early years

Conner attended McDowell High School in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was a running back and defensive lineman. As a senior he rushed for 1,680 yards on 155 carries and 26 touchdowns. He committed to play college football at the University of Pittsburgh in August 2012.[1]

College career

As a true freshman in 2013, Conner played in 12 of 13 games. He led the team in rushing yards with 799 and rushing touchdowns with eight. He was the MVP of the 2013 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, after rushing for 229 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.[2][3] The 229 yards broke Tony Dorsett's school record for rushing yards in a bowl game.[4][5]

In his sophomore season in 2014, Conner rushed for 1,765 yards on 298 attempts an ACC record 26 rushing touchdowns. The rushing yards led the ACC and ranked 7th in the FBS.[6] At the end of the season he was named the ACC Player of the Year[7] and garnered AFCA first-team All-American honors.

Personal life

On December 4th 2015, Conner announced he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Despite this, he said "I choose to not fear cancer...I will play football again." [8]

References

  1. ↑ McDowell defensive end Conner commits to Pitt
  2. ↑ James Conner, Pitt top Bowling Green in Little Caesars Bowl
  3. ↑ James Conner leads Pittsburgh past Bowling Green
  4. ↑ Gorman: A Pitt great compliments Conner
  5. ↑ James Conner breaks Pittsburgh bowl rushing record, plays defense in Pizza Bowl win over Bowling Green
  6. ↑ FBS (I-A) Player Rushing Statistics - 2014
  7. ↑ James Conner is ACC Player of Year
  8. ↑ Pitt's James Conner Diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma

External links

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