Conner is staying home

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James Conner is trading in his blue and gold for black and gold, as the Pitt running back was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

The Steelers used a compensatory pick - No. 105 overall - to draft Conner Friday night. He is the first Pitt player to be drafted this year and the first Pitt running back drafted since Dion Lewis went to the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2011 Draft.

Additionally, Conner is the first Pitt player to be drafted by the Steelers since Hank Poteat in 2000.

Conner finished his Pitt career ranked second in school history in rushing yards (3,733), touchdowns (56) and rushing touchdowns (52), as well as third all-time in points scored (338). And Conner put his name in the ACC record books as the conference’s all-time leader in touchdowns and rushing touchdowns. He was a two-time All-ACC first-team honoree (2014 and 2016) and the ACC Player of the Year in 2014.

That year - 2014 - was Conner’s breakout campaign. He had rushed for 799 yards as a freshman in 2013, but that yardage came mostly from four games. As a sophomore, he showed himself to be one of the best in the nation, averaging 5.9 yards per carry on 298 rushing attempts to finish the season with 1,765 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Conner was poised for a big follow-up in 2015, but a knee injury in the season opener against Youngstown State derailed those plans and he missed the rest of the season. Before he could make any decision about his future, the Erie native was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in November. His focus turned from football to chemotherapy, and he attacked that challenge with as much aggressiveness as he did the on-field challenges he faced.

Doctors gave Conner a clean bill of health in the summer of 2016, and he started working to get himself back into shape for the season. By his own admission, he wasn’t 100% when the games began, but he got stronger as the season progressed and finished the regular season with 100+ yards in four of the final five games.

Conner’s totals for 2016 - 1,092 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns - don’t match his 2014 showing, but given everything he went through over the 10 months leading into the season opener, those stats might be even more impressive.

And Conner added an element to his game this past season, catching a career-high 21 passes (he had nine career receptions prior to 2016) for 302 yards and four additional touchdowns.

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