McDowell grad, NFL running back James Conner holds football camp at alma mater
McDowell athletic director Mark Becker never knew when James Conner would show up at his alma mater during recent school years.
Becker would attend a basketball game the Trojans hosted at Paul Goll Gymnasium and, with zero word ahead of time, the school's most celebrated 2013 graduate would be there seated in the bleachers.
There was no randomness, though, about Conner's appearance at McDowell on Saturday. Becker was up at dawn to help set up for a football camp the former Trojan arranged at Gus Anderson Field.
It's the same field where Conner largely played his way into his current status as an NFL running back. He's less than three weeks away from training camp for his sixth season and second with the Arizona Cardinals.
"Having James around is always a positive," Becker said. "Whenever I think about him, I think about his bigger-than-life personality. He's got a kind and loving heart. He's always giving back and he's not afraid to do that."
That was definitely the case with Saturday's sold-out camp, which had roughly 150 students in each session. Boys and girls between the ages of seven and 13 participated in drills during the morning, followed by high school-age boys in the afternoon.
Conner, 27, also offered campers the chance to ask him questions at the end of each session. He also spoke with local media during the break.
“It's awesome I that could come back to Erie to do this,” Conner said. “We've been doing (camps) in Pittsburgh the last couple of years, so it was about time I brought it back home. I just felt like the time was right. It's a beautiful day and I'm blessed all these kids were able to come out here.”
Conner's football backstory
Conner said he hoped Saturday's camp can become an annual summer ritual at Gus Anderson. It was there where his talent and effort with McDowell's football program, particularly as a senior, warranted attention from NCAA Division I programs.
The University of Pittsburgh Panthers won that recruiting battle when Conner committed to them in August 2012. That same month, he started to accumulate the 1,680 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns he recorded for the Trojans.
Although Conner started his college career as a defensive player, the Panthers almost immediately recognized his talent for running the ball. He was permanently moved to the offensive backfield during their 2013 season, which he concluded with with a team-high 799 yards on the ground.
The last 219 of those yards were during Pitt's 30-27 victory over Bowling Green State University in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Detroit. Conner's rushing total was the most by a Panthers' running back in a bowl game.
Arizona Republic:Coming to Arizona Cardinals has rejuvenated RB James Conner, who wants to stick around
For subscribers:Erie-area athletes, coaches, fans closely follow James Conner's career, comebacks
Conner was even better as a sophomore, when he ran for 1,765 yards and 26 touchdowns. They were the main reasons he was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference's player of the year.
However, Conner's college career was abruptly shortened. He tore a knee ligament in Pitt's 2015 season opener and, while recovering from that injury, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Conner, though, successfully recovered from each malady. He returned to the Panthers in 2016 and rushed for 1,092 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Conner remained in the Steel City when he was picked during the 2017 NFL draft. He was chosen in the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers and played there for four seasons.
Arizona signed Conner as a free agent ahead of its 2021 season. He helped the Cardinals qualify for last season's NFC playoffs, where they lost to the Los Angeles Rams, the eventual Super Bowl champions, in the first round.
Conner's 752 rushing yards and team-high 15 touchdowns persuaded the Cardinals to sign him to a three-year contract extension.
Campers react
Conner, with assistance from author Tiffany Yecke Brooks, wrote a book that primarily dealt with his Hodgkin's diagnosis and successful recovery from it.
That book, “Fear is a Choice,” was published in 2020. A Conner-autographhed copy of it was among the items in David Adams-Prince's possessions as he prepared to head home from Saturday's camp.
Adams-Prince will be a Cathedral Prep junior when the Ramblers' 2022 football team begins play. Unlike most of the campers, Saturday wasn't the first time he encountered Conner.
“My aunt is close with his mom (Kelly Patterson), so I've met him and his mom,” Adams-Prince said. “I think (Conner) gives us kids — us Erie kids — a lot more motivation. You see all these kids from Texas and California going into (Division I college sports programs) and the NFL, so he gives us some hope too.”
While Adams-Prince is halfway through his high school football career, Tyler Quinn must wait two years to potentially begin his. The Harborcreek Township resident will be a seventh-grader when school resumes this fall.
Quinn was content with Conner's autograph on the white camp T-shirt he was given when he registered.
“This was fun,” Quinn said. “We got to hang out with him and run some drills. We got to learn from one of the best.”
Conner said it wasn't that long ago he was in Quinn's role as a camp attendee.
“Some of these guys here (Saturday) are younger than when I started playing football,” Conner said. “If I can give them a head start, they'll be better off than I am.”
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Arizona Cardinals' James Conner holds football camp at McDowell
