Dan Connor one of three new analysts to join Penn State football staff
Penn State added three new analysts to its football staff Monday, including former Nittany Lion and NFL linebacker Dan Connor.
A six-year NFL veteran, Connor retired from playing in 2013 and took up coaching the following year. He spent two seasons at West Chester University working with linebackers before becoming the head coach at Archbishop Carroll High School in 2016-2017. Most recently, he was the defensive coordinator at Widener University, which he began in 2018.
A former five-star recruit, Connor came to Penn State in 2004. He played all four seasons under head coach Joe Paterno, totaling 419 tackles. That’s No. 1 all-time at Penn State. He was a two-time All-American and the 2007 recipient of the Chuck Bednarik Award, which goes to the nation’s top defensive player.
In 2008, Connor was a third-round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers, going 74th overall. He spent four seasons in Carolina before also playing a year with the Dallas Cowboys (2012) and New York Giants (2013).
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Connor is one of two new defensive analysts added to the Penn State football staff, the other being Rick Lyster, who was formerly part of Manny Diaz’s staff at Miami.
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Lyster played football Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. He then served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach coach at Lafayette before joining Monmouth’s staff as a defensive assistant for one season. From there, he spent three seasons at Georgia Tech as a graduate assistant, 2015 to 2017, before joining Army’s staff as a defensive quality control coach.
The third addition should be another name Penn State fans find familiar in former Temple running backs coach Gabe Infante. Infante joined that staff in 2019, earning the role of recruiting coordinator in 2021.
Prior to that, he was the head coach at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia. In nine seasons, Infante totaled a 91-23 record, winning four PIAA state championships. He was named the U.S. Army Bowl National Coach of the Year in 2017. Infante is expected to help out Penn State on offense.
