Pitt’s Conner hears congratulations at scouting combine
INDIANAPOLIS — Instead of questions from coaches and general managers at the NFL combine, Pitt’s James Conner has mostly heard something else. Congratulations. Speaking to the national media for the first time at the combine Thursday, Conner said questions about his health have been at a minimum after he received a clean scan last week from UPMC oncologist Stanley Marks, meaning his Hodgkin lymphoma remained in remission.
“It’s not many questions I’m hearing,” Conner said. “I’m hearing a lot of congratulations. I’m up to date. They all got a copy of that, so there’s really no questions about that.”
Conner weighed in at 233 pounds at the combine, 12 pounds lighter than his playing weight last season at Pitt. Conner said he feels better at the lighter weight and did not lose the pounds to improve his time in the 40-yard dash drills.
“I think my whole rookie year, and from here on out that’s the weight I’ll play at,” Conner said.
“I think it will help me for the 40 but I didn’t lose it on purpose just for the 40. I wanted to get to a comfortable weight and I thought that’s anywhere from 230 to 235.”
Conner is part of a deep running back class that could have anywhere from three to five first-round picks.
But he thinks his battle from cancer gives him an advantage over every other back in the draft.
“I’ve been through so much,” Conner said. “I’m more determined than any running back in the class and willing to make sacrifices and do whatever it takes. I’ve shown that.”
The uninvited
Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn isn’t the only team executive disappointed about the NFL’s decision to bar Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon, one of the top running backs in the draft, from participating at the combine.
A video released in December showed Mixon punching a woman in the face during his first year of college.
He was barred from attending the combine under a new rule instituted by the league.
Duke Tobin, director of player personnel for the Cincinnati Bengals, said Mixon’s absence prevents teams from obtaining medical information about him.
“The history of this event was initially to get medical evaluations on a large group of players in the most efficient manner we can do it,” Tobin said.
“Not getting medicals presents us with a challenge. So from a logistical challenge, to get to 20 to 25 NFL cities and have their doctors put their hands on you and either say yes or no, that’s a very important element that we’re missing with those guys.”
Of course, Mixon’s absence likely won’t prevent him from being selected early in the April draft.
Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs drafted receiver Tyreek Hill in the fifth round even though he had pleaded guilty to a domestic violence charge after he punched his pregnant girlfriend in 2014.
Hill wasn’t invited to the combine, but he became one of the league’s most dynamic special teams players in 2016.
“If you’ve been in trouble and you handle yourself the right way, positive things can happen for you,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
“I mean, we’re in America, and America is forgiving to a point, but you can’t go backward, you’ve got to stay forward. I think most of those guys will probably have an opportunity. The coaches and the scouts and general managers are going to have to go to them or have them come to their facility to take care of business.”
Browns get the joke
Cleveland Browns general manager Sashi Brown said he is not bothered that two of the highest-profile players in the draft — defensive end Myles Garrett and quarterback Deshaun Watson — each made jokes about not wanting to be drafted by the Browns. Nor would it affect any decision the Browns might make with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
“I don’t think you can take some of this stuff too seriously,” Brown said.
“We’re realistic about where we are as a brand and a roster. More importantly, I think these are young men who are eager to play in the NFL. They want to go different places, perhaps, but I think, more important, you just can’t take it too seriously.
“It’s been well-documented and explained.”
In a video last month, Garrett, who played at Texas A&M, pleaded for the Dallas Cowboys to trade quarterback Tony Romo to the Browns so the Cowboys could move up and take him. Watson, the former Clemson quarterback, made a similar joke when he accepted the Davey O’Brien Award.
“Some of the representatives of the players called to explain some of the comments, and I explained to those guys at the time that we don’t take it too serious,” Brown said.