Brian McConnell (American football)

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]

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
Stats at Pro Football Reference

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

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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

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  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. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. 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. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  11. ^ "Brian McConnell". BlackMP.com. March 5, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2021.