Connor Lair

Honors MVFC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award: 2024 MVFC Honor Roll: 2022, 2024 MSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll: Fall 2022, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025 2024 Played in 11 games as a redshirt sophomore and served as the team's primary fullback ... Scored 2 touchdowns on 5 offensive touches in 2024 while contributing 6 special teams tackles ... Named MSU Special Teams Grinder of the game for contests at Montana (8/31/24), Indiana State (10/19/24) and at Murray State (11/9/24) ... Caught a 3-yard TD reception from Jacob Clark in win at UT Martin (9/21/24)... Had 2 receptions for 27 yards in win at Northern Iowa (10/26/24), including a career-best 27-yard TD reception, in addition to a 13-yard kickoff return ... Earned spot on MVFC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award list and MVFC Honor Roll ... Earned MSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll status for Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters. 2023 Diagnosed in early September 2023 with stage four Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Lair became the inspirational push for the Bears who adopted the #40Strong hashtag to inspire and guide their teammate through his treatment ... Before his diagnosis, he played in 2 games during his sophomore year to earn a redshirt ... Made season debut at Kansas (9/1/23) in season opener and also saw action the following week at UT Martin (9/9/23) ... Named to MSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll for Spring 2024 semester. 2022 Played in 10 games as a true freshman and made an immediate impact on special teams ... Logged first solo tackle at home vs. Southern Illinois (10/8/22) ... Also had assisted stops vs. UT Martin (10/8/22) and at North Dakota (10/1/22) ... Earned a spot on the MVFC Honor Roll ... Named to Athletic Director's Honor Roll for Fall 2022 semester. High School One of the top prep prospects in Missouri as a senior, Lair racked up 720 yards on 87 carries at West Plains (Mo.) High with 20 ground touchdowns for coach Matt Perkins in 2021 ... Defensively, he totaled 90 tackles with 21.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks for the Zizzers as part of a 10-2 team that won back-to-back conference and district titles ... Also caught 22 passes for 539 yards, while earning a spot on the News-Leader Dominant Dozen ... Earned all-state, all-region, all-conference and all-district honors for second straight year ... As a junior in 2020, he posted 105 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and three sacks in just 6 games and finished his prep career with 257 tackles and 43 touchdowns ... Team made state quarterfinal playoff runs in three of his four seasons. Personal Connor Lair was born 10/6/03 in West Plains, Mo. ... Son of Heath and Erin Lair of West Plains ... Has three brothers, Brett, Jax and Mason ... Majoring in Sociology.