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Conner adds offers, focuses on playoffs

As one of the top 2009 prospects in the state of Louisiana, Monroe (La.) Ouachita athlete Montrell Conner will be getting plenty of attention in the coming months on into next season. After already picking up three early scholarship offers, Conner knows that more are on the way, but the only thing he wants to think about is a first-round playoff game against a highly-touted opponent.
"We're supposed to play the No. 2 seed in the state," Conner said. "We're going in as the underdogs and everyone's picking us to lose so we're going in there knowing that we're the only ones we can depend on. All the power rankings and all that stuff are gone, it's 0-0 now."
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Conner is a 6-foot-2 210-pound athlete who spends most of his time at running back for his Lions. However with his size and frame he has the ability to play all over the field on the high school level and could project at any number of positions in college on both sides of the ball. This season though, he has been the most dangerous offensive weapon for his team out of the backfield, despite splitting time with senior running back Chris Brown.
However, Conner doesn't mind sharing the load on offense.
"I'm not selfish," he said. "I'm just a junior and I've got a whole 'nother year. It's not about me, it's about the seniors."
Conner is looking forward to the playoffs and is happy to do whatever he can to secure an upset bid, but if he were to have his choice, he favors having the ball in his hands.
"Basically I like doing whatever it takes to get the W," he said. "I'm a team guy. It's not just about me but everyone else on the team. I like defense but right now if I had to pick, I would say offense."
Conner's 6-4 team is facing a 9-1 squad in Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More. The game will be on the road, a place where Ouachita has struggled this season, picking up all four losses away from home.
"That's another downfall," he said of the road woes. "We gotta step up and play as a team. If you look at our schedule, all of our hard teams, they're on the road. This team that's coming up is 9-1 and anything can happen. Anybody can win."
Conner's head coach John Carr has been through the recruiting process before as teammate Tyler Edwards is a four-star tight end with offers from all over the country. Just as Carr did with Edwards, he has held some of Conner's mail until after his junior season but he has informed him of three offers that have come in.
"Basically my coach keeps my mail," Conner said. "And I understand why he's doing it. He has given me the offers from Ole Miss, Alabama and LSU. Basically, I like all three of those schools."
With the recruiting process in its infancy for Conner, he has a long way to go before he picks favorites, but three other schools that he'd like to hear from are Arkansas, Clemson and Oklahoma.
However, at this point, all Conner is thinking about is helping his seniors pick up a playoff win.
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