Penn State Football: 30 greatest players of all-time

A native of Frewsburg, New York, Shane Conlan looked like he was born to play football. A dominant high school player, Conlan made his way to Happy Valley for the 1983 college football season, and a had a four-year run with the school that has been matched by very few linebackers before, or since.

The captain of the 1986 national championship team, Conlan had one of the more decorated careers in Penn State history. He was a two-time All-American, becoming just the sixth Nittany Lion to accomplish that feat up until that point. Conlan capped off his Penn State career with an MVP performance in the Fiesta Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes that won the Nittany Lions their second national title.

For his efforts, Conlan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame back in 2014, and is widely considered by many to be the best linebacker Penn State has ever had. The Big Ten Network named him one of the four players on Penn State’s Mount Rushmore, as he was listed alongside Jack Ham, John Cappelletti and LaVar Arrington.

Conlan would go on to be a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1987, as they selected him with the eighth overall pick, and he certainly did not disappoint. Named the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1987, Conlan would play a key role on all of those Bills Super Bowl teams. While they never won one, they are considered one of the more dominant dynasties the AFC has ever seen.