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Connor, Penn State's All-America linebacker whom many had predicted would be selected in the mid-to-late first round of the NFL draft, still was available through 73 picks yesterday. That's when the Carolina Panthers, a team holding the 74th selection in the third round and seemingly in no need of linebacker help, decided there really can't be too much of a good thing.
"I think the guy who called first - and I'm not sure who that was, because the phone got passed around quite a bit after that - said something like, 'Did you get hurt?' " Connor said. "I said no.
"He said, 'Were you arrested?' I said no.
"And he said, 'Then why are you still on the board?' I said, 'To be honest with you, I don't know.'
"Then he said, 'Well, we're going to make you a Carolina Panther.' "
Connor was not the only former Penn State player whose selection by an NFL team was more drawn out than might have been anticipated. Cornerback Justin King, who declared for the draft after his junior season in the expectation that he would be at least a first-day selection, lasted until the 101st pick in the fourth round when he was taken by the St. Louis Rams.
"I'm excited the Rams picked me, but I am a little disappointed to fall that far," said King, the 16th cornerback drafted. "The coach [Scott Linehan] asked, 'Are you ready to put a Rams uniform on?' I said, 'Yes, sir, I am. I'm ready to get rocking.'
"Look, the draft is only a starting point. Once you go to camp, you get to play football and show what you can do. I'm very confident in my ability. I just take this as another challenge."
So, too, does Connor, who said he was "shocked" to slide not only out of the first round, but all the way into the second day.
"Having talked to my agent [Drew Rosenhaus] and been in contact with several teams, it was definitely a surprise to me to be waiting around that long," he said. "But that's how the draft is. You can go up or you can go down. It kind of depends on what teams like you and what their needs are."
Or, in this case, what the Panthers' need isn't. Carolina spent its No. 1 draft pick in 2007 on Jon Beason, now its starting middle linebacker. Thomas Davis and Na'il Diggs return as the starting outside 'backers, and Connor's former Penn State teammate, Tim Shaw, appeared in 14 games last season, registering 12 tackles and two assists as a rookie backup and on special teams.
Carolina general manager Marty Hurney hadn't expected to add another linebacker or two in the draft - the Panthers also chose outside linebacker Hilee Taylor, of North Carolina, in the seventh round - but he said Connor simply was too enticing to pass up.
"I think we always say that's why you stay open-minded, because you never know what's going to happen," Hurney told the Charlotte Observer. "We all have the same philosophy that you can't go wrong selecting good football players."
In its predraft analysis of Connor, the 2007 Bednarik Award winner as the nation's top defensive player, Scouts Inc. reported that the 6-3, 235-pounder out of Strath Haven High "displays excellent natural instincts versus the run and in zone coverage, and he has the speed to play sideline-to-sideline when protected from the linemen in front of him . . . Connor is a bit more physical and fluid than former Nittany Lion teammate Paul Posluszny (who went to Buffalo with the 34th pick in the second round in 2007), which is why we expect him to come off the board earlier in this year's draft, likely mid-to-late portion of the first round."
Connor said he had minimal contact with Carolina since he completed his college eligibility in a 24-17 victory over Texas A & M in the Alamo Bowl.
"Maybe a little bit at the Senior Bowl, and at the [scouting] combine," Connor said. "I interviewed with them, but they weren't exactly a team I was expecting to call. And I imagine it was probably the same for them."
But now that he's gotten a little used to the idea, Connor said he is looking forward to playing for the Panthers.
"I get to be reunited with Tim Shaw, for one thing," he said. "I had a chance to talk a little bit with Jon Beason right after they drafted me, to get acquainted with what the team's all about, what he's all about.
"It's a great area. I can't wait to go down there for minicamp."
He also expects to go down there with a bit of a chip on his shoulder and something to prove to all the teams that allowed him to slide in the draft.
"All I can do is make the best of it now," Connor said. "Having gone later than I expected definitely has given me motivation, to say the least. I can't wait to get out on the field and prove a lot of people wrong."
Three former Nittany Lions who were eligible for the draft - quarterback Anthony Morelli and tailbacks Rodney Kinlaw and Austin Scott - were not selected and now will attempt to sign with an NFL team as undrafted free agents. *
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