Dan Connor (American football)

Daniel Murphy Connor (born November 2, 1985) is an American football linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Panthers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State.

Connor was a two-time All-American and the 2007 Chuck Bednarik Award winner at Penn State. His 419 career tackles is a school record.

Early years
Connor played football at Strath Haven High School in suburban Philadelphia 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. Conner rushed for over 1,500 yards his junior season and scored 29 touchdowns. On defense, he had more than 160 tackles to go along with 3 interceptions. As a senior he rushed the ball 231 times for 1,807 yards and 28 touchdowns. Defensively, Connor recorded 141 tackles, 11 sacks and three interceptions. For his career, Connor was 56-3 and started in 59 straight games. He finished with 591 carries for 4,531 yards and 77 rushing touchdowns. On defense, Connor amassed 461 tackles, 38 sacks and 19 interceptions.

College career
Connor 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.

He majored in crime, law and justice. His brothers were not nearly as good at football but played in college. His oldest brother "played" center for Boston College and his brother Mike played for Delaware and then Lehigh.

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 ran a 4.63 40 yard dash at his Pro Day. He also bench pressed 225 lbs 22 times and jumped 35" vertically.

Carolina Panthers
Connor was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round (74th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. Due the Panthers' wealth of talent at linebacker, Connor played sparingly—mostly on special teams—in the first 3 weeks of the 2008 season before a torn ACL suffered during a loss to the Minnesota Vikings ended his season.

Despite reportedly fielding several trade inquiries during the 2010 offseason, the Panthers made it clear Connor will compete for a starting job this season after the team released veteran linebacker Na'il Diggs.