John Conner (American football)

John Edward Conner (born June 8, 1987) is a former American football fullback. Conner earned a 2009 College Football All-America Team selection and was one of the best fullback prospects in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was drafted in the fifth round by the New York Jets. He is nicknamed "The Terminator" because of the name he shares with the main character from the popular movie franchise and because of his aggressive blocking style against defensive players.[1]

John Conner
Conner with the New York Jets in 2011
No. 38
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Born: (1987-06-08) June 8, 1987
Cincinnati, Ohio
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:Lakota West
(West Chester, Ohio)
College:Kentucky
NFL Draft:2010 / Round: 5 / Pick: 139
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games:62
Rushing yards:108
Rushing touchdowns:2
Receptions:12
Receiving yards:84
Receiving touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

High school career

Conner attended Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio, where he was a two-year starter at running back. He rushed for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per carry, as a senior. That year, Lakota West gained an 8–3 record and a berth in the state playoffs. Conner was subsequently named first-team All-Greater Miami Conference and honorable-mention All-Southwest Ohio.

Unrecognized as a prospect by the two major recruiting services, Rivals.com and Scout.com, Conner was not offered an athletic scholarship, although he received some recruiting attention from Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Illinois, among others. He eventually chose to walk on with the Kentucky Wildcats.

College career

As a true freshman at Kentucky, Conner appeared in the first three games of the 2005 season on special teams before sustaining a season-ending injury. He received a medical redshirt and retained the year of eligibility.

In his redshirt freshman season, Conner played in all 13 games, starting the first three at fullback. In his sophomore year he also played all 13 games, starting four. He scored four touchdowns and also made two tackles in kick coverage.

By his junior year, Kentucky frequently opened with a fullback in the lineup, giving him 11 starts in 13 games. In a game versus Georgia, Conner set career highs with seven rushes for 26 yards.

Prior to his senior season, Conner was named the "best blocking back" in the Southeastern Conference in the Birmingham News 2009 preseason edition. After a solid performance throughout the season, Conner earned All-American honors by Pro Football Weekly, which places an extra premium on talent and draft value in the selection process.[2]

Professional career

2010 NFL Draft
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11 1⁄8 in
(1.81 m)		 246 lb
(112 kg)		 32 in
(0.81 m)		 8 1⁄2 in
(0.22 m)		 4.64 s 1.56 s 2.60 s 4.32 s 7.15 s 35 in
(0.89 m)		 9 ft 3 in
(2.82 m)		 24 reps
All values from NFL Combine[3][4]

Considered one of the best fullbacks available in the 2010 NFL Draft, Conner was selected in the fifth round (139th overall) by the New York Jets.[1]

New York Jets

He does all the things that NFL teams ask their fullbacks to do. He blocks. He catches the ball. And when you need him to make a carry in short yardage, he almost always picks up first downs. He's going to have a long career in the league.

— UK offensive head coach Joker Phillips[5]

In 2012, Conner struggled with an MCL sprain and hamstring injury, and was released by the Jets on October 17.[6]

Cincinnati Bengals

Conner was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals on December 15, 2012, after the team placed fullback Chris Pressley on the injured reserve list. Conner was released by the Bengals on August 31, 2013. In an episode of Hard Knocks, Bengals coaches stated that though Conner was the best Fullback on the roster, they were keeping Orson Charles due to his special teams play, even going as far as showing Charles game film of Conner after the decision.[7]

New York Giants

After working out with the Buffalo Bills, Conner was signed to a two-year contract by the New York Giants on September 25, 2013, replacing Henry Hynoski, who suffered a fractured shoulder in Week 3 of the regular season.[8]

Second stint with the New York Jets

Conner was re-signed by the New York Jets on September 30, 2014 after fullback Tommy Bohanon suffered a broken collarbone.[9]

Buffalo Bills

Conner signed with the Buffalo Bills on May 13, 2015, reuniting with his former head coach Rex Ryan.[10] On September 4, 2015, he was released by the Bills.[11]

References
  1. "NFL Draft - 2010 FB Draft Prospects", CBSSports.com, retrieved January 8, 2010
  2. Vaught, Larry (December 22, 2009), "UK Football: Conner named All-American", Danville Advocate
  3. "John Conner Combine Profile", NFL.com, retrieved February 27, 2010.
  4. "John Conner Draft Profile", NFLDraftScout.com.
  5. Cosby, Chip (September 24, 2009), "Cats to try fullback Conner at tight end", Lexington Herald-Leader
  6. Vorkunov, Mike (October 17, 2012). "Jets reach injury settlement with John Conner". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  7. http://www.bengals.com/news/transactions.html Retrieved August 31, 2013
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Retrieved September 25, 2013
  9. Slater, Darryl (September 30, 2014). "Jets re-sign John 'The Terminator' Conner to replace Tommy Bohanon, who goes on injured reserve". NJ.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  10. Brown, Chris (May 13, 2015). "Free agent FB John Conner signs with Bills". Buffalo Bills. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  11. Brown, Chris (September 4, 2015). "Leodis McKelvin to Reserve/NFI as Bills release 16". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
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