UNIVERSITY PARK — Between Dan Connor and Paul Posluszny there are 791 collegiate tackles, four All-American awards and three Bednarik Awards.
The duo helped return Penn State to national prominence and a 2005 Orange Bowl championship as they were part of a dominant defensive unit.
Posluszny went on to a 10-year NFL career with stops in Buffalo (2007-2010) and Jacksonville (2011-2017) while Connor played six years in the league for the Carolina Panthers (2008-2011, 2013), the Dallas Cowboys (2012) and the New York Giants (2013).
Injuries thwarted Connor’s NFL career before he got into coaching. Now, Connor is on the sidelines at Beaver Stadium once again as the linebackers coach, a position his former teammate is perfect for him.
“You saw how much he loved the game and and how well he was able to pick things up and communicate it,” Posluszny told NSN in an exclusive interview. “And it’s in his blood, from a sense that his father coached, his older brothers coach so you knew that football is such an important part of life for for Dan and his family, and that he could be an outstanding leader of young men. And what a perfect spot for him to be in. He’s had such a great career, and now he’s leading the next class of Linebacker U, it’s perfect.”
Connor returned to Penn State in 2022 as a defensive analyst, a position he held until he was promoted to linebackers coach following last season’s departure of Tom Allen.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.It should come as no surprise that when Posluszny and Connor lined up beside each other that Posluszny could see coaching being a great fit for Connor once his playing career wrapped up.
“He has an enormous understanding of the game,” Posluszny said. “What was special about Dan is he could play any linebacker position. He played outside linebacker at times he moved into to middle linebacker, the fact that he could do that and do it so seamlessly and have a great understanding of everything that’s going on around him. You knew that he was just he was a master of the of the mental part of the game, and he has the ability to, you know, relate to other players, and communicate that, which is obviously critical for the coaching aspect.”
The communication aspect of coaching and for Connor is what made him the heir apparent to the position when Allen left. Connor took over communicating plays after players were unable to understand Allen’s calls through the helmet.
Connor’s mark as a player will live in Penn State lore forever. Now, he gets a chance to coach those who want to leave their own mark.
