Brian McConnell (American football)

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Brian McConnell
No. 82, 59
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1950-01-21) January 21, 1950 (age 74)
Passaic, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Peddie School
College:Michigan State
NFL draft:1973 / Round: 7 / Pick: 162
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Brian Thomas McConnell (born January 21, 1950) is a former American football linebacker who played for the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State University.[1][2]

McConnell played two years in Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, mostly as an offensive lineman, becoming team captain, earning high school All-American honors, and graduating in 1969. He attended Michigan State University, graduating in 1973.[3] He was drafted in the seventh round to the Buffalo Bills[4] where he played tight end, and was traded to the Houston Oilers[3] where he would play 7 games that season as a linebacker.[5] In 1974 he was slated to report to the New England Patriots camp, but walked out as part of the strike that year.[6] He finished his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins in 1977.[3]

Post-football career[edit]

After leaving football, McConnell got his MBA at Stanford University.[3] He serves as the vice-president of the NFL Alumni Association, Northern California Chapter.[7][8] He is a partner in HPN Neurologic, a company that works on concussion diagnostics and treatment.[9][10] In 2018, he posted that he survived a transplant to deal with liver cancer.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Brian McConnell Stats". Pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "Brian McConnell, LB". NFL.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Peddie School Hall of Fame – Brian McConnell '69". Peddie School. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  4. ^ Wenzel, Matt (April 24, 2018). "A look at every Michigan State player picked since first common NFL draft". Mlive.com. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  5. ^ "1973 Houston Oilers". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  6. ^ "Strike Unit On 24‐Hour Call to Talk". New York Times. July 16, 1974. p. 25.
  7. ^ "About Us". NFL Alumni Association, Northern California Chapter. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  8. ^ ProSafeBand (January 14, 2021). "NFL Alumni To Promote ProSafeBand For Athletic Safety And Covid-19 Contact Tracing" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved June 30, 2021 – via Yahoo! News.
  9. ^ Louie, David (September 16, 2016). "Former, current players weigh in on NFL's $100 million committment [sic] to concussion research". KGO-TV.
  10. ^ Cameron, Layne; Blanchard, Gary; Dantus, Marcos (March 9, 2017). "New Concussion Sensor Now Available to Athletes". Research at Michigan State University. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  11. ^ "Brian McConnell". BlackMP.com. March 5, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2021.