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 = , academic_affiliations = , 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 ...

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, 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

. 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