Hattiesburg’s Jarod Conner details his commitment to Memphis

Jarod “Snoop” Conner never really had any interest in picking his favorite college team. That is, until the Hattiesburg star picked up his first Division I football offer after a breakout season last year. 

“I ain’t never had a college team until I got in the recruiting business,” said Conner. 

Last season was Conner’s first at quarterback for Hattiesburg. Fifty-three touchdowns later, Memphis and third-year coach Mike Norvell supplied Conner with his first scholarship offer. 

“That meant a lot,” said Conner. “They’re the first school that gave me a chance.”

The plan now is for Conner to remain a Tiger and take Memphis up on their offer. The senior announced his commitment to the program late Tuesday night, choosing them over his second offer, Ole Miss. 

Conner plans to transition from quarterback to running back once his Hattiesburg career is finished. 

“Memphis was the best fit for me,” said Conner. “And it’s a good running back program.”

His head coach, Tony Vance, sees him as either a running back or a linebacker at the next level. At 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, Conner could do well at either spots, according to Vance. 

“We play him at quarterback, so he misses a lot of the running back drills that he’s going to get at the next level,” said Vance. “Even when we play him at linebacker, he misses a lot of the linebacker drills. So I think his ceiling is extremely high.

“His work ethic is one of the things that separates him. He doesn’t look for a way out. He doesn’t dodge work. He’s in the weight room, and obviously you can look at his body now and tell he’s put the time in to get bigger, faster and stronger.”

Conner says he still plans to take visits to other schools once the 2018 season comes to a close. He and the Tigers will kick things off Saturday night at home against Petal.