Gareon Conley – Biography, Career Profile, What You Need To Know

Alumni and Ohio State cornerback for the Oakland Raiders signed in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Gareon Conley, has been cleared of a rape charge that could have hampered his NFL dreams but has yet to prove his form as the athlete of choice following an injury.

Here’s the player profile and everything you need to know about the Ohio State star.

Profile of Gareon Conley

Conley was born on June 29, 1995 in Massillon, Ohio. He attended Massillon Washington High School where his football career took off. In high school, he played both defensive and offensive positions as a cornerback and wide receiver. As a senior, he recorded 25 tackles and one interception as a cornerback while on offense, caught 50 passes and scored 16 touchdowns as a wide receiver.

After his high school career, he committed to college play for the University of Michigan, but ended up playing for the Ohio State University Buckeyes. He was red jersey his freshman year at Ohio but played in all 15 games as a rookie in 2014 and recorded 16 tackles.

As a sophomore, he started all 13 games and ended the season with 49 tackles and two interceptions. He led the Buckeyes to a Fiesta Bowl victory after the 2015 season and then to a second Fiesta Bowl appearance in 2016. Conley was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick in 2015 and as a junior, a Conference All-Star secondary teams. On November 29, 2016, he was named the second team of the Ten Coaches and third by the media. After his junior season, he decided to give up his senior year for an NFL career and entered the 2017 draft.

Gareon Conley’s style of play at Ohio has led many NFL scouts to compare him to cornerback Aqib Talib. Also, he was considered one of the top defensive prospects and a potential first-round selection in the draft.

What to know about Gareon Conley

NFL Career

Conley became a first-round pick as he was picked by the Oakland Raiders as the 24th overall in the draft. However, his career was reportedly cut short before it even started as he was accused of rape, an event which allegedly took place earlier in the month of the Draft. The Raiders brought him in after conducting their own investigation and passing a polygraph test which he passed.

After the draft, he signed a four-year contract on July 28, 2017, worth $10.467 million, with a guaranteed signing bonus of $5.752 million. A shin injury kept him out of the first game of the season and he ended up playing only two games in a row.

Rape charge

Prior to being drafted into the NFL, GareonConley had a dark phase down the line. He was charged with raping a lady at a Cleveland hotel on April 9, 2017, weeks before the draft. He vehemently denied this accusation.

Following the accusations, however, it was speculated that he might drop out of the draft’s first round due to the claims, but that was not to be as he was picked by the Raiders long term and still in the first round after that. ‘they have proven beyond doubt that he is a good choice and possibly not guilty. A grand jury decided not to indict Conley on July 31, 2017, thereby exonerating him from the charge.

Injury

The first-round pick has been injury-free shortly before turning pro, but he’s dealt with one injury after another in his young career. He spent more time on injury reserve than he left on the pitch. His occasional injuries with injuries that seemed determined to hamper his career and his dreams raises the question of whether this will be a trend in the cornerback’s career. We sincerely hope that this will not be the case.

In his rookie season, he missed the season opener against the Titans with a shin injury. Although he returned in Weeks 2 and 3, he eventually landed on injured reserve on November 13, 2017, after aggravating the injured shin, which rendered him inactive for the remainder of the season.

Family

Gareon Conley is the son of Sherry StineRobinson, to whom he is super close, and Jameel Abdul Aziz Conley. He has four siblings; two brothers: Jameel and Ayeee Glenoak and two sisters: Maria and Meera. His parents have long been separated, and he has a stepmother from his father’s second marriage to Angela Conley (née Sigler).