Well, things just got interesting.
Pitt players continued falling down the NFL Draft board and no Panthers were taken in the top 100 picks despite some lofty expectations. But with the No. 105 pick (3rd Round), the local pro team Pittsburgh Steelers took a chance on Pitt running back James Conner. Suffice to say, there will be a lot of happy people in Pittsburgh.
Conner, of course, is one of the feel good stories from last year's college football season. After returning from an MCL injury and cancer, he had a big season with 1,092 rushing yards and 20 total touchdowns.
One thing Conner spoke of that he wanted to do in his last season was catch more passes. That happened as Conner was used in the passing game much more than ever before. He had a total of 21 catches after hauling in only nine in the three combined years before that. Those went for 302 yards and while Conner didn't have the monster season he did in 2014, he was arguably a bit more complete as a back.
Congrats to Conner as his story now comes full circle. Growing up in Erie, he will now have played high school, college, and pro ball all within his home state of Pennsylvania. Pretty great story.
My guess is that the NFL better make sure they're well stocked on Conner Steelers jerseys. Just a hunch.
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