Shane Patrick Conlan (born March 4, 1964) is a former professional
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 wi ...
player. He played
college football at
Penn State University, where he won two national championships in
1982 and
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
, although he was red-shirted prior to the start of the 1982 season and did not play that season. In 1981, prior to his Penn State career and after his senior season at
Frewsburg High School in which he played under head coach Thomas Sharp, Conlan was voted Western New York high school Player of the Year. During his career at Penn State, Conlan had 274 tackles, including a school-record 186 solos. He finished his football career as a three-time
all-pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
with the
NFL's Buffalo Bills and the
Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams.
Early life
Conlan was born in
Olean, New York and was raised in
Frewsburg, New York
Frewsburg is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Carroll in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 1,906 at the 2010 census. The ZIP code is 14738 and the telephone exchange (which extends past Carroll and ...
.
College career
Conlan capped his junior season at Penn State in the 1985 national championship game in the
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...
against the
University of Oklahoma
, mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State"
, type = Public research university
, established =
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, endowment = $2.7billion (2021)
, pr ...
. The finale to his senior year was in the 1986 national championship game versus the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
in the
1987 Fiesta Bowl, Conlan had eight tackles, two interceptions. Most memorably, he returned the second of his two interceptions 38 yards to the Miami 5-yard line to set up
D.J. Dozier's game-winning touchdown. With Penn State's 14-10 victory, Conlan's squad completed an undefeated season, securing the 1986 national championship.
As captain, Conlan led the 1986 squad in tackles with 79, including a team-high 63 solo stops. During his final two collegiate seasons (1985 & 1986), he was named an
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n at
outside linebacker, making him the sixth two-time All-American at Penn State. He received this honor from NEA in 1985 and from
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...
, ''The Football News'', Football Writers, Football Coaches,
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
,
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...
, and ''College and Pro Football Newsweekly'' in 1986. In addition, Conlan was a 1986 finalist for the prestigious
Butkus Award
The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...
as the nation's top linebacker. He was elected to the
College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
On December 11, 2014 the
Big Ten Network included Conlan on "The Mount Rushmore of
Penn State Football
The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 afte ...
", as chosen by online fan voting. Conlan was joined in the honor by
John Cappelletti
John Cappelletti (born August 9, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) with the Los Angeles Rams and the San Diego Chargers.
Prior to his professional career, he att ...
,
Jack Ham
Jack Raphael Ham Jr. (born December 23, 1948) is an American former professional football player who played as an outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He is considered one of ...
and
LaVar Arrington
LaVar RaShad Arrington (born June 30, 1978) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Penn State and was drafted second overall by the Washington R ...
.
Professional career
Conlan was selected as the No. 1 draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in the
1987 NFL Draft. After his rookie season, he was awarded the 1987
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...
by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
. From 1988 to 1990, Conlan enjoyed three straight trips to the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
. Conlan played with the Bills (1987–92), where he played in the first 3 of the Bills
Super Bowl teams and the
Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams (1993–95) before retiring from the
NFL in 1995.
After football
Since Conlan's retirement from the NFL, he has worked for Esmark Inc. as the company's Vice President of Commercial Real Estate. In 2013, he was named the
Pittsburgh Power
The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The team belonged to the East Division of the American Conference (AC) in the Arena Football League (AFL). Founded in 2011, the Power ...
's Vice President of Corporate Partnerships.
Conlan has four children, including Patrick (b.1992), a former NCAA division III college quarterback (Hobart University), and son Chris (b. 1997), an NCAA division I Wide Receiver (William & Mary)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conlan, Shane
1964 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football linebackers
Buffalo Bills players
Los Angeles Rams players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners
Penn State Nittany Lions football players
People from Frewsburg, New York
St. Louis Rams players