Dan Connor, is a very rich man.
Connor officially became a Panther when he signed a four-year, $2.49 million contract last week. The deal includes a $789,000 signing bonus.
The former Penn State linebacker said he's not sure what he's going to do with the money yet, adding he's just glad to finally get the deal done.
"I'm happy with the deal," Connor said. "I wanted to get a contract signed before training camp and we were able to do that."
Unfortunately it may be a while until he sees the field.
And while there's a slight chance Dan Connor could make the move to weakside linebacker, some scouts believe he's a tad slow to play outside in the NFL. His future rests in the middle, meaning Dan Connor will most likely have to spend his rookie campaign relegated to special teams and being a backup.
"He has to earn his way on the field and he knows that," Jim Connor said. "Everyone out there is just as good or better than he is, so the work has just begun."
Dan Connor said he doesn't really mind having to play the role of understudy. His playbook is thick and he said has a lot to learn, adding he can only benefit from playing behind linebackers such as Beason.
"I'm still trying to learn the playbook," Dan Connor said. "It's a lot more complicated than I've ever seen, so I've had to study a lot, but I should be OK.
I added the emphasis there just because it stuck out to me. We tend to think of college football players on almost the same level as the pros, but we forget they have classes and exams and girlfriends and social lives and they only get to practice one or two hours a day. When they get to the NFL, football becomes their job and their entire life revolves around it. Best of luck, Dan.
Our Big Uglies are Bigger and Uglier
So says ESPN. And so it shall be.
If you haven't seen already, ESPN is slowly branching into the world of blogging. Adam Rittenberg is running a fantastic Big Ten blog for the World Wide Leader which is quickly becoming a daily read for me. Anyway, Adam recently ranked the offensive lines of the Big Ten, and our Nittany Lions came in #2 on his list.
2. Penn State -- All five starters return to a unit that mirrored Ohio State in both sacks allowed and rushing production last season. Shipley and guard Rich Ohrnberger solidify the interior line along with Stefen Wisniewski, who last year became the first true freshman offensive lineman to start at Penn State since 1999. Hopes are high for whip-smart left tackle Gerald Cadogan.
For those of you too lazy to click through to read the article, Ohio State was number one and Wisconsin was number three.
Ladies Night
It's been ten years since I graduated from Penn State (ed. - Dear God, has it been that long? Am I really 34 years old and running a friggin' blog? Shouldn't I be grown up by now?) so I've never even heard of this place, but apparently the State College bar Lulu's Nightspot is pretty popular with the ladies.
This past weekend, the State College Police Department responded to four separate incidents at Lulu's Nightspot.
A woman will be charged with harassment after fighting with Lulu's staff at about 1 a.m. Saturday, and a man will be charged with underage drinking and disorderly conduct after police said he caused a disturbance while being refused entry to the bar at midnight Saturday.
Two incidents at about 1:47 a.m. yesterday were similar: a student's 19-year-old sister will face underage drinking and disorderly conduct charges after being accused of fighting with a female student in front of Lulu's, and a 23-year-old student will face disorderly conduct and harassment charges after police say he challenged Lulu's staff to a fight after he was asked to leave the bar for apparently fighting with a woman, police said.
That's right, ladies. If you want to go hang out at Lulu's you better be ready to throw down. Don't sing it if you can't bring it.
Like I said, I've never been to Lulu's, but I figure a cat fight in a college bar at 1 AM on a Saturday night would probably look something like this. (SFW, but better close the door to your office so people don't hear you laughing.)