Alfred State — and 2023 Eisenhower graduate Conner Younger — will take on Endicott (Massachusetts) College in the first round on Saturday. Endicott is 9-1 and won the Conference of New England title. The winner of this first-round contest will advance to play SUNY Cortland.

Younger — four-year starter at center on offense, lineman on defense, and long snapper on special teams for Eisenhower High School and head coach Jim Penley — was recruited to play at Alfred State.

But he didn’t play, not right away anyway.

“I just hadn’t really planned on college,” he said before deciding to major in heavy equipment operations. “I wanted my own heavy equipment business someday, so I just thought I would go right to work after graduation.”

Submitted photo Conner Younger took a year off to work on a cattle ranch in Montana before joining the Alfred State football team this fall.

He ended up not doing that, or football, right after high school.

“Nope, did not go to college at all,” said his father, Steve. “He went to Montana to work on a cattle ranch, something he always wanted to do, test himself he said. To me, that’s the real story, that he took a year off and is now starting at long snapper for the conference champions and in the NCAA playoffs.

“I have learned to never underestimate Conner,” said his father. “He marches to his own drum. He has proven he can do anything once he sets his mind to it. My wife checked his first-quarter grades — lowest is an 88%. He is doing well, and remember, he was home-schooled.”

His father didn’t know he was talking again with the Alfred State coaching staff.

“It really and totally was his choice to play,” said Steve. “He wanted to prove to himself that he could do it. I did not know he was in contact with the head coach until after it occurred. … I am very proud of him, both Kelly and I are. It would be hard to underestimate him after all he has done, but it’s been his path.

Conner Younger

“From a knight to a cowboy to a pioneer; I’m afraid of what’s next,” added his father.

The unassuming Conner reflected on how he got here.

“It’s definitely crazy thinking about how, growing up, I always wanted to play college football and that it was always an end goal,” he said. “I never thought I would be taking a gap year and moving to going to college and playing; definitely not how I planned on it going, but that’s how it went. I didn’t really train for the season … and had only a short time to get in football shape.”

The only position that came up in conversation was that of long snapper, “so I figured I would try,” said Younger.

Football suddenly “got a little bit bigger,” according to Conner, coming from a small high school to playing in college after taking a year off.

“I would say my experience at Alfred has been good,” he said. “I am fitting in good with the tech school and having that program to be able to do, and college (football) isn’t a whole lot different I would say. I’m getting decent playing time at starting long snapper for punt and short snapper for extra points and field goals. I would say I’m contributing about the same as I did in high school when it comes to the long snapping. I feel like the pressure is the same — at least I try to feel like that so the nerves don’t build up.

“The benefits of being on the team have definitely been the connections and building a lot of friendships fast,” he said. “Being on the team definitely motivates me to get better grades so I don’t fall behind and I don’t risk not being able to play. So everything educationally has been good. My major is heavy equipment operations. What I want to accomplish in life is to have a family that is happy and healthy and taken care of, and one day I would like to own my own company in the heavy equipment/construction industry.

“I have definitely made a lot of close friends being on the team,” said Conner. “It helps seeing the same people everyday for practice, meetings, lifting, etc.”

With 26 victories in his last three seasons at Eisenhower, being a Knight taught him how to win, “but the feeling of being able to be part of the championship win was definitely good, especially as a freshman,” said Conner. “It was cool to be a part of.”