Connor

SAN ANTONIO — Dan Connor got into football at an early age — as in 18 months old, when his football coach-father had him lining up in a three-point stance in the backyard.

He's been on the field ever since. No wonder he turned into the latest star linebacker at Penn State.

"I've been a football player my whole life," Connor said Thursday at the Alamodome. "I've been around it forever. Football is the main thing."

Before he heads to the NFL, there's one more collegiate game to play Saturday against Texas A&M at the Alamo Bowl.

Connor has already built an impressive resume, including the Bednarik Award as the nation's best defensive player and Penn State's career tackles leader (410).

All at a school dubbed Linebacker U. for producing impressive players like Paul Posluszny, LaVar Arrington and Shane Conlan.

Football for Connor started at the home of his parents, Jim and Carol Connor, in suburban Philadelphia, where Dad got Dan and his two older brothers into three-point stances early.

Jim Connor, a coach at Strath Haven High School, would bring film home to study. His sons would gravitate into the room and used what they saw as a script for mock games around the house.

Those games got fiercely competitive for Connor and the older boys, who didn't use kid gloves when roughing around with their baby brother.

It didn't take long, though, for Connor to separate himself — and it had nothing to do with football. The boys were playing basketball in the backyard one day when the ball bounced over a four-foot fence. Connor, then about in fifth grade, jumped over with ease, never touching the fence, Carol Connor said.

"That's when I knew ... Oh my God, he is a freak," she said.

Connor started as a freshman at free safety on the Strath Haven team that won the 2000 PIAA Class AAA title. In high school, he also played middle linebacker and running back and rushed for 4,500 yards and 77 touchdowns

But linebacker is where is made his mark in college. Again, he impressed early, starting the last three games in his freshman season in 2004 and finishing second on the team with 85 tackles.

Then came a stint in coach Joe Paterno's infamous doghouse in 2005. Connor missed the first three games of the season as part of punishment for making prank phone calls against a retired assistant coach close to JoePa.

"Dan, from that experience, really matured," his mother said. "Dan could relate to the guys in that he went through some of that stuff."

Connor's play on the field speaks for itself. His athleticism grew out of all those leaps over the fence in the backyard of the Connor home. The toughness comes from those scrappy weekend games with his brothers and father.

"He's had such a great career," teammate Sean Lee said. "I'm hoping we'll go out on a win to send him out."