Steelers select Pitt RB Conner in 3rd round of NFL Draft

James Conner's story tugs at the listener's emotions, inspires, but also leads to tears.

The Steelers didn't care about any of that.

They drafted Conner in the third round Friday night to play football and, perhaps, add another dimension to their running game.

"This is not a story about sentiment," running backs coach James Saxon said of the first Pitt player drafted by the Steelers since Hank Poteat in 2000. "This is a story about a young man that is a very good football player. I hope the guys we play against are sentimental because he's going to share with them some sentimental, physical things."

Diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in November of 2015, Conner played football in 2016 only four months after finishing the last of 12 chemotherapy treatments. Cancer-free after only six months.

"It's a dream come true," Conner said on a conference call with reporters from Erie, his hometown. "I'm forever grateful for them for giving me the opportunity after everything I've been through.

"I know a lot of teams were scared, but they gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, and they are going to get a great person and a great football player, and I'll give it my all for them."

Conner sat with family and friends for nearly two rounds before hearing his name.

"I was getting a little antsy and a little worried because I know my talent level," he said. "I saw some other running backs go before me. I'm different, and I know what my talent is."

He said he sensed some teams were hesitant to draft him based on his past.

"That's just what I thought," he said. "Me personally, I believe that what I put on tape is right up there with the best of the best."

An All-American and ACC Player of the Year in 2014 and All-ACC last season, he finished second all-time at Pitt in rushing (3,733 yards), touchdowns (56) and rushing touchdowns (52) despite missing most of the 2015 season with a knee injury. The only Pitt back he didn't pass on those lists was Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett.

Even all of that didn't mean much to Saxon.

"James is a great guy, and what he does as a football player is what we want," he said. "The fun thing about being around this young man is you know what you're going to get. You're going to get hard work, a guy that is committed to want to learn and get better every day.

"He's accountable. He's done everything he's been asked to do."

The Steelers believe he can be a complement to Pro Bowl running back Le'Veon Bell.

"Different kind of guy," Saxon said. "Smart football player, tough, physical. The guy has got great stature, something that is going to pay dividends as we go down the road.

"He runs the football downhill."

Conner, 6-foot-1, 233 pounds, was drafted with the 105th overall pick, a compensatory choice awarded to the Steelers by the NFL for losing free agents.

When he reports to rookie minicamp next month, he will have a chance to win the No. 1 backup job to Bell on what appears to be a thin depth chart at running back.

"Obviously, Le'Veon Bell is the primary running back," Conner said. "He's one of my guys and good friends. He's put the work in and proven it. He earned (the right) to do what he does best. Whenever I come into the game, whether it is special teams or anything, I'm going to make sure to give it my all and help the team anywhere they need me."

Conner will, simply, move next door at the South Side practice facility Pitt shares with the Steelers.

When coach Mike Tomlin called Conner on Friday night, he said, "I know it's surreal. I know it's an unbelievable thing, but you got to get over that. We got work to do, all right?"

After that, Conner said one of the first calls he received was from Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi.

"He just told me congratulations. I have to call him back," he said. "I know he's incredibly proud of me. I'll have a long talk with him."

The conversation likely will include some the sentiment expressed in Narduzzi's tweet just after midnight Saturday morning.

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.