Adam Konar (born October 10, 1993) is a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He was originally drafted 25th overall in the

2015 CFL Draft The 2015 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, at 8:00 PM ET on TSN2 and RDS2. 62 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. For the fi ...

by the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

and played for four seasons with the team. He played

CIS football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confer ...

for the

Calgary Dinos The Calgary Dinos are the athletic teams that represent the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. They were known as the "Dinosaurs" but usually referred to as the "Dinos" until 1999, when the name was officially shortened. Some of its venue ...

Early career

Konar played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Fighting Irish of

Vancouver College Vancouver College (abbreviated informally to VC) is an independent university-preparatory Catholic school for boys located in the Shaughnessy, Vancouver, Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1922, it is the ...

as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and linebacker. In 2009, Konar suffered a broken fibula and missed post-season games. He was named MVP of the 2010 Subway Bowl with three

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s on offence and two

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s on defence. In 2011, Konar 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 ...

as a linebacker for the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds. He earned the program's rookie of the year award. Due to poor grades, Konar was forced to leave UBC before the 2012 season and take classes at

Capilano University Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshin ...

. Instead of playing college football in 2012, he joined the

Langley Rams The Langley Rams (formerly the South Surrey Rams and Big Kahuna Rams) are a Canadian Junior Football team based in Langley, British Columbia. The Rams play in the six-team B.C. Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Foot ...

of the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to profess ...

. Konar recorded 16 solo tackles, five sacks, three interceptions, and four fumble recoveries in his one season with the Rams, earning himself the B.C. Football Conference's Outstanding Defensive Player award. While Konar originally intended to return to UBC after a year with the Rams, he instead decided to transfer to the University of Calgary and play for the

. Konar cited strong academic support as one reason he transferred to Calgary. He missed the entire 2013 season due to a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

injury suffered on the first day of training camp. In 2014, Konar was named a first team All-Canadian after achieving 34 solo tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble. He recorded a team-high eight tackles in the Dinos' playoff loss against the

Manitoba Bisons The Manitoba Bisons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The football team plays their games at Investors Group Field. The soccer team play their home games at the University of Manitoba ...

Professional career

Edmonton Eskimos

Konar was listed by the CFL Scouting Bureau as the 16th ranked draft prospect in December 2014, but did not appear on the final rankings. He was invited to the national

CFL Combine The CFL Combine (formerly known as the Evaluation Camp or E-Camp) is a three-day program in which athletes from Canadian universities and Canadians in the NCAA are scouted by general managers, coaches and scouts of the Canadian Football League (C ...

in early 2015. Konar was selected in the third round of the

by the Edmonton Eskimos with the 25th overall pick. After making the active roster out of training camp, Konar debuted in the season opener against the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

on June 27, 2015. He would go on to win the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

with the Eskimos in his rookie season. He played in 34 games with the Eskimos over four years and was released on the eve of 2019 training camp on May 18, 2019.

BC Lions

Shortly after his release from the Eskimos, Konar signed with his hometown

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

on May 20, 2019. He signed a contract extension with the Lions on February 3, 2021.

Edmonton Elks

Konar returned to the

in free agency on February 8, 2022.

Personal life

Adam Konar is the son of

Kevin Konar Kevin Konar (born July 8, 1958 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a former star linebacker for the BC Lions. After playing his university football with the University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public ...

, former linebacker and

champion for the

. Konar is also the cousin of

Jamie Boreham Jamie Boreham (born March 29, 1978 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a former professional Canadian football punter and placekicker and is the head coach of the Prince George Kodiaks of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL). He played for ei ...

, a retired CFL kicker.

References

External links

Edmonton Elks bioBC Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konar, Adam 1993 births Living people BC Lions players Calgary Dinos football players Canadian football linebackers Canadian Junior Football League players Edmonton Elks players Players of Canadian football from British Columbia Canadian football people from Vancouver UBC Thunderbirds football players