Before the opening game of his senior season, former Canton standout Jack Connolly admitted that there was going to be a moment when he got emotional about his final college football season. Whether it was the opener at Georgetown or maybe the home opener in week two against Ivy League rival Havard, he knew that it was only a matter of time before the realization struck that his time with Brown University football was ending.

“It’s always been about playing sports, doing things with my friends,” Connolly explained. “I’ve got 10 games left and it’s a sprint of a season, so I think it’s going to hit me hard when I walk out there on Saturday. I’m so grateful for it all.”

Connolly never hesitated to take advantage of the fifth year of eligibility that he received after the COVID pandemic canceled his freshman season. An All-Ivy League selection on the offensive line in 2023, Connolly, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 315 pounds, could have jumped into the transfer portal and explored potential opportunities to play in a Power 5 conference, but he never truly considered leaving Brown.

“I love it here,” he said. “There’s no reason I wouldn’t want to come back and win an Ivy League championship with some of my best friends. You can go chase the ACC and all that fun stuff, but I love the Ivy League, I love Brown, and there’s nowhere else I’d want to play.”

Brown is happy to have him back at left guard this fall. Connolly started all 10 games last year, helping the Bears earn a 5-5 record, which was their best since 2015. Brown was second in the Ivy with 396 yards of total offense in 2023 and, with 31 returning players, this fall promises to be even better.

Connolly’s strong senior season led to preseason hype as well, being named to the Phil Steele All-Ivy League team before the year started. After playing the last couple of games of 2023 at tackle, filling in for injuries, Connolly is also back at his favored left guard spot.

All of that had him more than ready to get the season underway.

“I’m super pumped,” he said. “Guys are stepping into roles now that could make us a very good football team, so I’m excited to see it all come together.”

Asked about what it meant to receive all-conference recognition, he said, “It means a lot, I’ve always just kind of kept my head down and worked, but to me, those individual titles mean nothing without a team title and the team title I want is the Ivy League championship. That’s all I’ve wanted for five years.”

Brown got off to a strong start in week one, tossing a second half shutout and returning home from Washington, D.C. with a 26-14 victory over the Hoyas. It was exactly the start Connolly was hoping for after a month of buildup to the season opener.

“I’ve been chomping at the bit to play,” he said, while admitting that the team has largely ignored all the preseason hype, rankings, etc. as they prepared for the games to kick off.

“I know the guys in the room, guys around the program, and we don’t really read too much into that stuff. We know what we’ve got. You can have someone telling you that you’re the best player in the league and also having someone rank you at six.”

The relationship that has been built with the guys in the room is one of the reasons that Connolly is so confident in Brown’s chances at being a contender in the Ivy League. He said, “We have this motto, Coach Morrissey says ‘five strong’ which means being close, being strong, being mentally tough, and I think a lot of guys have bought into that.”

As a fifth-year player in the program, Connolly admits that he feels much more settled and more comfortable with his position on the team and on the line. He’s appeared in all but one game in the previous three seasons, playing several positions along the line. His understanding of the offense and the expectations of the coaching staff has made him a stand out on the field and in the locker room, which is why he was named a captain this season.

Connolly is embracing his role as a leader on the team and knows how important it is for the veterans to set the tone for the team.

“There were guys who came before me who did the same for me,” he explained. “These younger guys, you really want to make them feel at home and feel comfortable and really push them to their limits because that’s what football is all about.”

During his time at Canton, Connolly, a two-time league all-star, helped the Bulldogs win back-to-back Davenport division titles, the program’s first league titles in nearly 40 years, and twice reached the Div. 5 South final. He also won back-to-back state titles as a starting defenseman on the hockey team, including the 2019 team that went undefeated.

Even with all of the success that he had before getting to Brown, Connolly admitted that there was plenty of room for him to grow as a player.

“I was such a raw player,” he said. “Sometimes I look back and watch my high school film, and think holy crap, I’m surprised I even got here. I thought I knew a lot about football in high school but then I got here and I knew nothing. I think the mental aspect of the game has skyrocketed since I got here.”

That growth has opened the possibility of playing professionally, although Connolly is trying to postpone that discussion for a few months while he focuses on his final 10 games with Brown and the goals that the Bears have set for the season.

His focus is on seeing the program continue its upward momentum and adding the program’s fifth Ivy League title (and first since 2008).

“It would mean everything to me,” Connolly said about closing out his career by winning a championship. “I think we have the guys to go out and do that and to be around from the early days of Coach Perry’s tenure here it would be really nice to see the program in a healthy state when I’m gone.”

“This is all I want. I’ve got 10 games left. I’m going to give it my all. I can’t even put it into words how excited I am for this season.”

Ed. Note – Brown rallied for a last-minute, 31-28 win over Harvard on Saturday. It was Brown’s first win against the Crimson, who had received votes in the national top 25 polls, in 14 years. Brown racked up 406 yards of total offense and is now, along with Dartmouth, one of only two unbeaten Ivy League teams. Harvard led 28-10, but the Bears scored the final 21 points. Leading 28-23 in the final minute, Harvard attempted a field goal but a bad snap was recovered by Brown and carried to the Harvard 27. Brown connected on a TD pass on the first play from scrimmage and added the two-point conversion to take the lead with :21 left.