Tanner Conner (born March 20, 1998) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

Early life and high school

Conner grew up in

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...

and attended

Kentridge High School Kentridge High School is a (senior) high school that is located on in Kent, Washington. It is the second-oldest and second-largest high school by area (while the largest by population) in the Kent School District. It primarily serves students ...

, where he played basketball and football and was a hurdler on the track team. As a senior, he won the state championship in the 300-meter hurdles. Conner was not originally recruited to play college football and committed to run track at Idaho State before receiving an offer to also play football at the school.

College career

Conner

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman football season at Idaho State. Conner was named honorable mention All-

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

after finishing his redshirt sophomore season with 47 receptions for 792 yards and eight touchdowns. He was named first-team All-Big Sky. after catching 34 passes for 685 yards and three touchdowns as a redshirt junior. Conner entered his redshirt senior season as the 12th-most athletic player in college football on sportswriter

Bruce Feldman Bruce Feldman is an American racing driver from San Ramon, California. He won the 1988 Barber Saab Pro Series championship. He also competed in the 1992 Indy Lights season. Racing career Feldman Started racing in go karts at age 10 and that was ...

's annual "Freaks List". He finished the season with 42 receptions for 735 yards with four touchdowns and was named second-team All-Big Sky. After the conclusion of his college career, Conner was invited to play in the

2022 East–West Shrine Bowl The 2022 East–West Shrine Bowl was the 97th edition of the all–star college football exhibition to benefit Shriners Hospital for Children. The game was played at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on February 3, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. P ...

. Conner also was a member of Idaho State's track and field team. He competed in the

110 meter hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hur ...

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

, and the

4 × 100 meters relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

during the outdoor season and the

60 meter hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds ( Susanna K ...

and the

60 meters 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

during indoor events.

Professional career

Conner was signed by the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on April 30, 2022, shortly after the conclusion of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. He made the Dolphins' initial 53-man roster out of training camp. On August 29, 2023, Conner was waived by the Dolphins and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 15, 2024.

Personal life

Conner's father, Andy, played college football at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

References

External links

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Miami Dolphins bioIdaho State Bengals football bioIdaho State Bengals track and field bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conner, Tanner 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Kent, Washington Players of American football from King County, Washington American football wide receivers Idaho State Bengals men's track and field athletes Idaho State Bengals football players Miami Dolphins players American football tight ends