James Conner called his shot before he digs in at Yankee Stadium.

Conner, Pittsburgh’s star running back, announced he would skip his senior season and declare for the NFL draft and also play for the Panthers against Northwestern in the Pinstripe Bowl today.

He bucked the 2016 trend of draft prospects bypassing a bowl game to protect their NFL futures for one last game with his teammates. Conner also reversed his decision to wait to announce his fate until after Pitt’s bowl game.

“I didn’t want to go into the bowl game having the attention be on me,” Conner said.

Too late.

The New York spotlight will shine on Conner in his final game as he tries and cap what’s been a solid season and boasted of wins over Clemson and Penn State for the Panthers (8-4). Conner proved he could handle the attention that comes with developing into one of the best running backs in football during a comeback season from a cancer diagnosis that turned him into an inspirational figure for others in the same fight.

Conner had the unconditional support of his coaches and teammates during his battle Hodgkin lymphoma. He wasn’t about to bail on the Panthers in a bowl game against Northwestern (6-6).

He had a personal goal for playing in the bowl game, as well.

“I’m showing the scouts I can be back to my normal self and that I can compete at a high level after everything I’ve been through,” he said.

Back to his normal self?

Conner could hardly be more potent out of the backfield had he never been jolted with the life-changing diagnosis.