Just over four years ago, when Connor decided to attend Penn State, his parents, Jim and Carol, purchased a lake house in the Poconos. The second home was at a midpoint for travel, about an hour and 45 minutes each way between the Connors' residence in Wallingford and State College.

Now Connor will make his own important journey in his football career.

An all-American at both Strath Haven High in Delaware County and at Penn State, Connor, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker, is projected to be selected anywhere from late in the first round to the middle of the second round.

With the first two rounds being held Saturday, starting at 3 p.m., Connor's wait will likely be held to one day. But with 10 minutes between first-round picks and seven in between during the second round, Connor may want to grab a pole and fish that Poconos lake.

"It'll be a crapshoot," Connor said. "I've heard so many different things from different teams. At this point, it's out of my hands. I just need to sit back and relax."

As far as Connor, 22, is concerned, he's done enough worrying over the last four months. The day after the Alamo Bowl - his final game in a Nittany Lions uniform - Connor headed to Florida to begin an intense training regimen to make his body NFL-appealing. A few weeks later, he played in the Senior Bowl, winning MVP honors after he recorded nine tackles and an interception for the North team.

At the February NFL combine in Indianapolis, however, Connor got the flu and skipped most of the workout. He had to wait three weeks until Penn State's pro day but solidified his standing with a 40-yard dash in 4.67 seconds and an impressive 6.78 split in the three-cone drill.

Since then, Connor has visited with the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. In the meantime, his stock - according to some mock drafts - has slipped.

"There were some people who thought he was a top-10 pick," said Tony Pauline, a draft expert for SI.com. "I thought that was foolish from the beginning. I always said there were problems with his size and the fact that he's not great in coverage."

Connor, through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has been told that two teams will take him in the first round if he's still on the board.

"But you never know what's going to happen," Connor said. "You can't even listen to the teams, even as much as you think that's reliable. From what I've heard . . . the teams that you don't talk to end up drafting you."

The Dolphins, Falcons and Saints own the first, third and 10th overall picks, respectively, but could be poised to take Connor early in the second round. (The Dolphins already used their first pick to sign offensive tackle Jake Long.) The Falcons have the 34th selection, where former Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny was taken a year ago by the Buffalo Bills.

Connor and Posluszny, Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Lions' all-time tackles list, are rated comparably. The Falcons also have the 37th pick, but Connor could be attractive enough for the San Francisco 49ers, who pick 29th and 39th; the New York Giants, who have the 32d choice; or the St. Louis Rams, who pick 33d.

"I don't think he's slipping," said Chris Steuber of scout.com. "I just think it's going to be hard for him to get into the first round because [Tennessee linebacker] Jerod Mayo is making a big jump."

Connor and Mayo are ranked by most as the top two inside linebackers. But while Mayo's speed makes him a climber, Connor's versatility has him the safe pick.

Until last season, he played on the outside, and some teams still envision him there. But his instincts and run-stopping abilities favor the inside. With that cue, Connor went about re-sculpting his body at a training facility in Davie, Fla.

"What they wanted to do was remake his body so that he had the ability to play inside at a high level," Jim Connor said. "He's a lot thicker through the trunk and down to his lower legs."

For the elder Connor, the metamorphosis has been compounded by the distance. Dan recently returned to the Philadelphia area, even though Rosenhaus wanted Connor to spend draft weekend with the rest of his clients.

"That's not really our style," Jim Connor said. "We wanted to stay out of the limelight."

And so, the Connors will head up the Northeast Extension to await Dan's future residence.

"Of course, we'd like it to be close," Jim Connor said. "But wherever he goes, I don't see anything bad that could come out of it."

A second halfway house, however, may have to be more than two hours away.