Penn State All-America linebacker Dan Connor said yesterday he is uncertain whether he will return to Penn State for his senior year or forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft in April.
"It's up in the air right now," the junior said. "I'm not positive what I'm going to do. As of now, it's all on Tennessee. It's all football related. I'm not going to look at that until January."
But while he has yet to make a solid decision, Connor said that given the right circumstances, he would be willing to leave Happy Valley to test the NFL waters.
"I guess if I was a first-round, early-second round [pick], then I'd have to consider it," he said.
Heading into the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day, Connor is second on the team with 103 total tackles. His 66 solo tackles are a team-high. Connor also has five sacks.
His season earned him second-team All-America honors from The Associated Press, as well as a first-team nod from The Sporting News, which placed fellow linebacker Paul Posluszny on the second team.
Connor was also a finalist for the Bednarik Trophy -- given to the nation's top defensive player -- with Posluszny, the first time two teammates were finalists for the award. Posluszny won the award for the second straight year.
Posluszny, who decided to return to Penn State for his senior season after injuring his knee in the Orange Bowl last year said he expected Connor to return.
"I think he's staying, obviously, 'cause he hasn't said much about it," Posluszny said. "But if he would ever ask for any advice, I would tell him to go talk to his family and see what the best decision for the whole group would be."
Assuming Connor returns to Penn State, he would be the team's most experienced defensive player and the leader of a linebacker corps that would include talented rising junior Sean Lee and a combination of Lee's classmates Jerome Hayes and Dontey Brown.
"That's the one thing. The teammates are the one thing that's really making me want to stay," Connor said. "To play another year with these guys and to work with some of the younger guys and bring them up as Paul brought me and Sean up is something that I'd definitely like to do."
Since Connor was suspended temporarily from the team last fall after making prank calls to a former Penn State assistant coach, teammates say he has grown up.
"He's always been a mature guy," Posluszny said. "Last year, just a mistake happened and that could happen to anyone."
Despite his off-field mistakes, no one ever questioned Connor's judgement on the field, a product of his upbringing by a father who was also his defensive coordinator in high school.
"He has unbelievable instincts. He has a great football mind," Posluszny said. "You can tell his father is a football coach.
"He's a lot smarter in the football sense than a lot of us are."
For his Penn State career, Connor has 264 total tackles in 31 games. With the spiral fracture to his left hand fully healed and self-admittedly "back to normal," Connor will look to pad those statistics in the upcoming Outback Bowl.
As for his future, Connor said he hasn't researched the draft. He did say, though, that if he does find there is a need for linebackers in the draft, it could influence his decision.
"If there's a need for you and people think you can do it and the right people think you can make that next step you've got to weigh it," he said. "You've got to see if it's going to be a feasible option."
