FAIRVIEW TWP. — How ’bout them Cowboys!
For Lake-Lehman graduate and former Penn State offensive lineman Connor McGovern, the Dallas Cowboys are just fine.
McGovern waited until about 10:45 p.m. Friday night before hearing his named called in the NFL Draft when the Cowboys selected him in the third round. He was the 90th pick overall.
McGovern waited nearly four hours before getting a call from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. He and his family sat in front of a big-screen TV at Broadway Tavern while a few hundred crammed the bar to offer support. Most draft websites projected him to be chosen in the late second or third round.
“It was hard. The nerves were going the entire time,” McGovern said. “I kept seeing guys go, and I knew I had to stay calm. I got on the phone with my agent and he said, ‘Don’t worry, don’t worry — it’s going to happen.’ Then after the 87th pick, the phone started ringing and I saw Dallas, Texas. Answered it and it was Jerry Jones.”
The Cowboys posted the audio of that call shortly after the pick, with the NFL’s most famous owner introducing himself simply as “Jones of the Cowboys.”
“Hey, Connor. We’re proud to call ‘ya and tell ‘ya, you are now a Dallas Cowboy,” Jones said. “Boy are you joining a hellacious offensive line.”
McGovern said he was excited and Jones replied, “Well it’s a compliment with what these guys (in the front office) think of you, now. I mean, it’s a compliment.
“I think you’ve joined the best unit of any unit of anything in the NFL, this offensive line.”
Jones then handed the phone to McGovern’s new head coach, Jason Garrett.
“We’re awfully excited to draft you and bring you to the Cowboys,” Garrett said. “You’ve got a chance to be a hell of a football player. And you’re absolutely what our team is all about. Can’t wait to get you in here and get you to work.”
The crowd, which inched closer and closer to the McGoverns with every selection, received a false alarm prior to the Pittsburgh Steelers making the 66th pick. McGovern was on the phone, and some were speculating he would be heading across the state. Instead, McGovern was talking to his agent.
“We didn’t talk much (to the Cowboys),” McGovern said. “But my agent said they loved me and everything else. They’re excited to have me, and I’m excited to get down there and get to work already.”
The 6-foot-5, 308-pound, McGovern, who started at guard and center for Penn State, said he’ll find out Saturday when he’ll report to the Cowboys.
Although Dallas is far from his Larksville home, he’ll have company just a a few hours away.
“You saw all the teams he made visits on come and go, and then maybe a couple guys at his position rated under him that were selected,” said Jim McGovern, Connor’s father. “It was a funny way for things to work out. He couldn’t be happier. He’ll be three hours away from his oldest brother, who is in Oklahoma. It will be a great, great fit for him.”
Connor’s brother, AJ, is stationed with the U.S. Army at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
McGovern was the Times Leader Player of the Year for football in 2015. He started at guard as a freshman at Penn State. He switched to center as a sophomore and returned to guard as a junior. He declared for the NFL draft a year early, completing the NFL requirement of being three years removed from high school.
As he made his way through the bar, he was mobbed by well wishers.
“Just look at it,” McGovern said. “It’s unbelievable everyone showing up.”
