Bucknell University Athletics
Conover is the one who is really cooking now
8/15/2007 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 15, 2007
By Glen Farley, Enterprise staff writer
Click on Sean Conover's bio on the Tennessee Titans' official team Web site and you'll learn that his favorite food is "anything that Mom cooks."
Get the mixing bowl out, Mrs. Conover. Your 6-foot-5, 275-pound son is returning to the area for some home cooking.
"Growing up, I was fortunate enough to go to a ton of games in Foxboro," said Conover, the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School product who will be No. 77 in your program when the Titans play the New England Patriots in Friday night's preseason game at Gillette Stadium. "My uncle (Harry from Abington) had season tickets, and my father and I would go to the games with him and one of his sons. It will be weird actually playing in the stadium, but it should be a lot of fun, more fun than playing anywhere else."
Even with upwards of 100 family members and friends expected to be on hand, it will be difficult for Conover, a second-year defensive end, to make himself at home this Friday night in Foxboro to the degree he did this past Saturday night in Nashville.
Although the Titans surrendered 14 points in the final 1:14 to lose their preseason opener with Washington, 14-6, Conover recovered a fumble by quarterback Jason Campbell on the Redskins' opening possession and later tossed Mark Brunell for a 6-yard loss and teamed with linebacker Colin Allred to throw running back Derrick Blaylock for a 2-yard loss.
All this with his parents, Wayne and Patty, and younger sister Allison, a cheerleader at Framingham State College, in the stands, having made the trip from their home in Whitman to LP Field.
"It was definitely a fun night," Conover said during a phone conversation prior to the Titans' practice at Nashville's Baptist Sports Park on Monday afternoon. "I feel as though I'm playing hard and playing well. You never know how things are going to work out, what's going to happen, but I feel good about the things I can control."
Listed as fourth-year veteran Travis LaBoy's backup at right end, Conover certainly finds himself in far better position than he did a year ago when he reported to camp as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Bucknell University.
"I don't feel like a seasoned veteran, but I'm not a rookie, either," said Conover. "I absolutely feel more comfortable than I did a year ago. I went through training camp last year. I definitely feel it's easier the second time around. Now, I know what to expect."
Conover exceeded expectations as a rookie.
By season's end, he'd become just the fourth player in Bucknell history to play in the NFL, the first since Bison running back Brian Henesey enjoyed a brief gig with the Arizona Cardinals in 1994.
Working himself onto the Titans' 53-man roster via their practice squad, Conover totaled 21 tackles (seven in their 24-21 comeback win over the New York Giants last Nov. 26) in six games, including the team's season finale with the Patriots at LP Field.
"It was pretty overwhelming at the time, but now that things have settled down and I can look back, it wasn't as bad as I thought," said Conover, who left Bucknell fifth on the program's all-time sack list with 17.5. "It doesn't seem as big of a deal."
Mom's cooking remains a big deal with Conover, however.
It's listed right there on his bio along with such other favorites as "Goodfellas" (movie), "Seinfeld" (TV show), Robert De Niro (actor), country and rap (music), biology (school subject), the Boston Red Sox (sports team other than the Titans) and Aruba (vacation getaway).
But Foxboro isn't Aruba and, besides, mid-August is no time for a vacation in the NFL. Fact is, the Titans players' schedule will be such that Conover won't have time for a home-cooked meal after the team touches down in New England on Thursday. Instead, he'll be forced to subsist on team meals at the Titans' hotel.
"It's everything she cooks," Conover answered when asked to name the best dish his mother makes. "I love her spaghetti with homemade sauce, but she has so many specialties I really can't pick out any one thing."
