James Conner is no ordinary athlete.

A junior at the University of Pittsburgh, Conner was a first team All-American running back for the Pitt football team last season. He also was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the year. He scored 26 touchdowns.

This season he’s facing a tougher opponent. On Friday, Conner announced he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Conner of Erie is attacking his cancer with the same zeal as he plays football — gaining as much admiration and providing as much inspiration off the gridiron as he has on it.

“When I heard those words — ‘You have cancer’ — I admit I was scared,” Conner said. “But after thinking about it for a bit, I realized that fear is a choice. I choose to not fear cancer. I choose to fight it and I will win.”

At the end of his prolific sophomore season, “I was asking myself, ‘Why me?’ Why was I the lucky one to be getting the ACC Player of the Year award when I had so many teammates who deserved it as much as me?” he said. “Now one year later, instead of asking, ‘Why me?’ I am saying, ‘Why not me?’ I can beat cancer.”

Conner has some other notable athletes in his corner, as well as thousands of fans. He’s received messages of encouragement from Cam Heyward, the Pittsburgh Steelers player whose father, Craig “Iron Head” Heyward was Pitt’s last All-American in 1987; and from Pittsburgh Penguins former star Mario Lemieux, who fought his own season-long battle with lymphoma 20 years ago.

He also has the many friends he’s made as a volunteer with the National Kidney Foundation, where he’s helped for several years because close family friends are afflicted with kidney disease. His friends there describe him as kind, gentle and dedicated.

With or without cancer, James Conner is no ordinary athlete. We wish him the best.