Conner Vernon (born August 18, 1990) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

as an

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in 2013 and spent time on the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

' practice squad, the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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High school

Conner attended

Gulliver Preparatory School Gulliver Preparatory School or simply Gulliver Prep, is a private co-educational school. Its management offices are in Kendall, a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Its four campuses are across the county. Previously the ad ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. He was a three-year letterman at Gulliver Prep under coach Earl Sims. As a senior, he caught 60 passes for 1,163 yards and 11 touchdowns to earn first-team all-state honors, he also led the Miami area in receiving yards in 2008 while helping Gulliver to a 12-2 record and berth in the Florida 2A state title game. He had 131 career catches for 2,668 yards and 22 touchdowns. He also lettered in track and field. Considered a three-star recruit by ''

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'', he accepted a scholarship offer from

over offers from Vanderbilt,

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

and Wake Forest.

College career

As a freshman, he played in all 11, starting the final eight games. He caught 55 passes for 746 yards and three touchdowns, and also returned 12 kickoffs for 295 yards (24.6 avg). The following season, he started all 12 games, in which he caught 73 passes for 946 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed five times for 40 yards and returned six kickoffs for 143 yards and a 23.8 yards per return average and he earned second-team all-conference honours. In his junior season, he started all 12 games, in which he caught 70 passes for 956 yards and six touchdowns. He became the first player in

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history to post multiple seasons with 70+ catches. He also earned second-team all-conference honours. As a senior, he started in all 13 games, in which he caught 85 passes for 1,074 yards and eight TD's. He set a

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

record for career receiving yards with 3,749. He earned second-team all-conference honors for the third consecutive season and third time in his career.

Professional career

NFL Draft

Vernon signed with the Oakland Raiders after going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft. Vernon was cut by the Raiders following the preseason but was signed to the Cleveland Browns practice squad before Week 17 of the 2013 Regular Season. Vernon was waived by the Browns during training camp in July 2014 and quickly claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals. Vernon was waived by the Bengals on August 8, 2014. Vernon was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions on August 11, 2014. The Lions released Vernon on August 23, 2014.Tim Twentyman on Twitter: The #Lions have released: G Alex Bullard, G A.J. Dalton, DT Greg Hickman, RB Steven Miller, DE Kris Redding and WR Conner Vernon
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References

External links

Oakland Raiders bioDuke Blue Devils bioBengals claim Vernon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Conner 1990 births Living people American football wide receivers Duke Blue Devils football players Players of American football from Miami Oakland Raiders players Cleveland Browns players Cincinnati Bengals players Detroit Lions players