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#2 Conner Vernon
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Position:
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Wide Receiver
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Height:
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6'2"
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Weight:
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195
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Year:
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Sophomore
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City/State:
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Miami, Fla.
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High School:
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Gulliver Prep
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Conner Vernon Bio
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Courtesy: Duke Sports Information
Release: 07/28/2009
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2010: Returning starting wide receiver ... candidate for post-season honors ... owns good size and speed ... possesses great savvy for a young receiver ... displayed ability to make big plays during rookie campaign ... enters second season after enjoying the most prolific rookie campaign by a wide receiver in Duke history ... could play a prominent role on special teams in the return game ... listed as the top sophomore wide receiver and 12th-best overall wideout in the ACC by CollegeFootballNews.com ... ranked tied for fifth among active ACC players with three 100-yard receiving games.
2009: First team Freshman All-America and Freshman All-ACC selection by Sporting News ... played in 11 games with eight starts ... missed the Kansas game due to foot injury ... started the final eight games of the season ... caught 55 passes for 746 yards and three TDs ... also returned 12 kickoffs for 295 yards (24.6) ... in the ACC, ranked tied for fourth in receptions per game (5.00), sixth in receiving yards per game (67.8) and eighth in all-purpose yards per game (94.6) ... nationally, ranked 56th in receptions per game and 58th in receiving yards per game ... among rookie wide receivers nationally, ranked second in receiving yards per game and third in receptions per game ... established Duke freshman single-season records for catches, receiving yards and 100-yard games (3) while totals in the same charts ranked fourth for all-purpose yards (1,041), tied for fourth for TD receptions and sixth for average yards per catch (13.56) ... reception total ranks third on the ACC’s single-season chart for rookies behind Virginia’s Wali Lundy (58 in 2002) and Maryland’s Frank Wychek (58 in 1990) while yardage total also stands third among conference freshmen behind N.C. State’s Koren Robinson (853 in 1999) and Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson (837 in 2004) ... overall, reception and receiving yardage totals both rank 14th on Duke’s single-season lists ... teamed with Donovan Varner (65) and Austin Kelly (54) to form the third-most prolific trio in Duke history with 174 combined catches ... also with Varner (1,047) and Kelly (602), became the first trio in school history to each have over 600 receiving yards in a single season ... paired with Varner to become the top duo in school history for combined receiving yards (1,793) while ranking third in combined catches (120) ... with Varner became just the fourth tandem in Duke history to have over 700 receiving yards each ... in first career start versus Virginia Tech, caught four passes for 128 yards to match the eighth-highest single-game total for yards per reception average (32.00) in school history ... totaled 192 all-purpose yards against the Hokies to equal the fifth-highest single-game total by a Duke rookie ... caught a season-high 10 passes for 86 yards and one TD against N.C. State with the reception total matching the second-highest single-game total by a freshman in Blue Devil history ... had 173 all-purpose yards at N.C. State for the 10th-best single-game total by a freshman in school history ... other 100-yard efforts came in wins over Maryland (5-102) and Virginia (7-103) ... against the Cavaliers, five of the seven grabs produced first downs including the game-winning 42-yard scoring strike from Thaddeus Lewis at the 3:45 mark of the fourth quarter ... became the first Duke freshman to score a game-winning, fourth quarter TD since George Clark provided the go-ahead score against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1945 ... the three 100-yard games rank fourth, fifth and sixth on Duke’s single-game chart for receiving yards by a freshman ... top kickoff return performances came against N.C. State (4-87) and Army (2-76) ... on the field for 610 snaps including 570 offensive plays.
Prior to Duke: Three-year letterman at Gulliver Prep under Earl Simms ... as a senior, caught 60 passes for 1,163 yards and 11 TDs ... led the Miami area in receiving yards in 2008 while helping Gulliver Prep to a 12-2 record and berth in the Florida 2A state championship game ... also averaged 44.4 yards per punt ... Class 2A first team all-state pick by the Florida Sports Writers Association ... All-Dade County pick by the Miami Herald ... had 48 catches for 825 yards and seven TDs to earn second team all-county accolades as a junior as team went 9-2 with a state playoff berth ... finished career with 131 receptions for 2,668 yards and 22 TDs ... also lettered in track and field.
Personal: Son of Thiana and Robert Vernon ... cousin, Al Del Greco (1980-83) and uncle, Jorge Portela (1977-79), both played football at Auburn ... high school teammate of fellow Duke football team member Donovan Varner ... born August 18, 1990.
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