In Play(er) of the Week, our goal is to highlight outstanding athletes or moments from games that deserve extra attention.

Dylan Connors ’26 is a safety on the Wesleyan football team from West Milford, N.J. For his outstanding efforts in the Red and Black’s season opening 43–7 victory over Middlebury, in which he blocked and recovered a punt and then ran it in for a touchdown, he was named NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week. This was Connors’ second NESCAC Player of the Week award, and his first time being recognized for his contributions on Special Teams. The Argus recently sat down with Connors to discuss his newest accolade, expectations for the season, and the importance of cultivating team camaraderie.

The Argus: How did you first start playing football?

Dylan Connors: When I was in third grade, I was introduced to it by friends. I grew up playing soccer, but then they introduced it to me because they thought I’d enjoy it. And then my dad encouraged me to play a more physical sport because that’s what he did growing up. 

A: Have you always played safety?

DC: I played quarterback and safety in high school. But as I got older, I kind of realized I was more fit for the defensive safety position because of how I read the field and I felt more in my element. But growing up I played running back, receiver, and outside linebacker. Safety is kind of where I found my niche. 

A: What’s your favorite part about playing safety and what would you say the hardest part of it is?

DC: My favorite part is definitely being able to see the whole field. At the defensive line, you can really only see the other team in front of you. But as a safety, you can see everyone on your team, what they’re doing, their responsibilities, and you’re almost more free because you don’t have set responsibilities as much as, say, a linebacker does because they have to read these holes and do all that. The hardest part would probably be the athleticism it takes. It takes a lot of speed. You have to be able to cover people in space. Open-field tackling is really tough sometimes because you have so much space in between you have to close and then make the play on it. 

A: Do you have any favorite players from growing up that you feel like you’ve tried to model yourself after?

DC: I didn’t grow up watching Ed Reed, but I watched Ed Reed compilations [of his] biggest hits. Tom Brady always used to talk about making sure you know where Ed Reed is at all times. So it just kind of stuck in my head growing up. But he’s a big hitter. I’m not necessarily one of those, but he’s fun to watch.

A: How did you decide you were interested in playing football in college?

DC: In high school, I played a lot of sports: lacrosse, wrestling, basketball, and football. I tended to gravitate toward football. With football, I thought I was the best at it, and I loved being out there way more than anyone else. The team camaraderie was really important. You just feel like you’re so tight with these guys, and you grow up with them for those four years, and it’s one of those things where you’re always together. You put in a lot of time. I really liked that team aspect of it, and I thought I excelled at that the most.

A: You went to public high school. Was it common for people to get recruited for football out of public high school?

DC: It wasn’t necessarily common. We usually had like one or two a year, whereas those private schools have most of them go. So it was different playing for me because all my other friends were just kind of playing to play. They didn’t really have these aspirations of playing in college. I found myself wanting to do more, so I guess that gave me the realization that I should probably keep going with it.

A: Do you feel like the recruiting process is harder for public school?

DC: Yeah, it definitely is. A coach here happened to go to my rival high school, so I kind of got lucky. But you just don’t have that exposure as well as private schools and you don’t play as good [schools] as competition either. So colleges will see you and be like, “Oh, you’re a good player, but I don’t really know who you’re playing against.” Whereas the private schools, you know it’s good competition, and you know you’re going to be good if you go to the next level. 

A: How did you decide that you wanted to go to Wesleyan?

DC: Growing up, I always used to say, “I want to pick my school, and then if I can play football there, I want to play.” Academics have always been really important to me, so knowing that Wesleyan is a top-tier academic school made me want to play. But then going through the other schools, I felt that the coaching staff here seemed more personable than others. On visits, they’re interacting with you, they make you feel like you’re already part of the team. So I felt that if I do come here, I know I’m gonna be accepted very easily and have a good time with all those people because team camaraderie is very important to me, and I just felt that right away from being recruited here.  

A:  What would you say your favorite football memory here has been so far?

DC: I’d probably say last year [against] Amherst. I happened to get that pick-six, which was awesome. It was during homecoming. Just feeling that one play, running down, seeing everyone else cheering behind you. It’s one of the best feelings I’ve had here so far playing football. 

A: So you’re number 14. Is there any significance behind the number?

DC: Well, kind of. I was 44 growing up, so I always had the fours in there. And then as I went to high school, I needed a lower number. So I wanted to keep the four and then my birthday is also the 14th of November. So I figured that would be a good combination of all the things to make it 14. 

A: Coming into this year, what would you say your expectations were for yourself and for the team as a whole?

DC: For the team as a whole, we knew we had a really good group coming in from last year. We retained a lot of the seniors, which is very important at the college level. And going into it, we wanted to rally around the fact that we knew we were good. Sometimes you try and convince yourself that you’re good enough, but we knew we can so it wasn’t a mental block for us. We just knew we had to put the work in physically. And for myself, I feel like you always need to strive high. So I wanted to be All-NESCAC. That’s my personal goal, and being good as a team will bring that anyway. The better you are, the more All-NESCAC guys you have. So I think just doing my part and what I’m asked to on the team will bring that to me, if I’m able to excel at it.

A: In the season-opening game versus Middlebury, you played a significant role with the blocked punt, which you also recovered and then ran for a touchdown. That was obviously a super important moment for the game. What was your experience like playing Middlebury?

DC: Obviously, it was our first game so we had high expectations as a team and we were very ready for that game. With that confidence, you just go in knowing what your job is and you’ll excel at it. 

For that specific moment, our coach was just like, if they don’t block you on the first [punt], you can just go on the next. And then he yelled out, “go, go, go,” on that one. And no one blocked me and I ran right up to it and blocked it and I was kind of like, “Oh, maybe I caught a piece of that.” I didn’t necessarily realize I blocked all of it. And then [the ball] appeared in front of me, and I picked it up and ran. I wasn’t expecting it to just be there. So that was a pretty cool moment. But overall, I think we played a very complete game as an offense, defense, and special teams, which is important to win these college games.

A: For this game, you got NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week, which is your second Player of the Week honor, because you had been Defensive Player of the Week last year for Amherst. So how do you feel about receiving this accolade, it being your second Player of the Week?

DC: I mean honestly, I think it’s almost more important because people think that special teams are not as important as offense and defense. But in order to win college games, you have to be good on all three levels. So I think it’s just important for me to do that and make sure other people realize how important it is. And then we got our second Special Teams Player of the Week [Austin Baker ’27] last week. So I think as you just [create] that momentum, it spreads, it’s contagious, and I think that’s important as a team. So that’s the significance of that for me. 

A: So this past weekend, you guys had a pretty tough loss at home versus Bates. What do you make of that game and how do you feel about the team moving forward from that?

DC: I think that going into that week, we came off those two two great weeks of Middlebury and Tufts. I think it was easy to, after those two games, take that sigh of relief and go into the week with that high feeling. And I don’t think we approached the game as we should have. So I think it was the kick in the ass that we needed. It gets the team realizing that every game is a playoff game. You can’t, in this league, go into games thinking you’re going to win and just beat people because you think you’re better. So I think it was an important game for us. It’ll definitely turn our season around. I think I’d rather that loss now than it be later down the road. It’s easier to turn the ship around now because it’s so early. 

A: This weekend you guys are back on the road going up to Hamilton. How do you feel coming into this week?

DC: You can already feel how different it is from last week. I think it’s a whole different approach rather than just going through the motions every day. Everyone’s really rallying around each other, whether it’s good plays, bad plays, trying to help each other out, more so than last week. And I think now we’re gonna bring this to every week, every practice. I think it’s important for us to really get back on track with this week because we know we can win if we play how we should. So I think putting all of this week together and seeing the outcome on Saturday is going to be really important for everybody, because they’re going to realize that’s how we play when we put the work in.

A: Last question, so now that you’re an upperclassman on your third season, what advice would you give to yourself as a freshman coming in?

DC: I would just say make the little things count. I think it’s important to put in the work in all aspects of your life, whether that’s waking up early, having that morning routine, just doing things to the best of your ability all the time because that carries over from off the field to on the field.

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.