Photographs courtesy O’Connor Family
Star quarterback at Easton High School has his sights set on the next level
Easton High School senior Michael O’Connor understands the lofty expectations for him. It comes from the great athletes in his family. O’Connor plays quarterback, the same position his two older brothers, Kevin and Ryan, did at Easton. Both Kevin (Duke) and Ryan (starting quarterback at Delaware) had stellar high school careers and went on to play college football.
“[But] I don’t feel pressure,” O’Connor says. “I would say I feel more motivated to be better than them. I still have some work to do. They are pretty accomplished.”
O’Connor couldn’t do much to achieve his goal in his first two years on the varsity. He missed his sophomore year because of a stress fracture in his spine (nine-month recovery). Last year, he played in only two games due to a broken collarbone. “I was devastated,” he says of suffering the second injury.
He always kept a positive attitude and worked very hard to recover. Through weight training, he added 15 pounds to his 6-foot-2 frame, which improved several areas of his game. Simply put, it made him a better player.
This past fall, things finally went O’Connor’s way on the field. He racked up big numbers for the Warriors, ranking among the state leaders in passing yards (1,936) and rushing yards (1,431). He finished with a whopping 40 touchdowns, including 24 passes for scores to earn Bayside Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors.
“His brothers had great careers, but he surpassed them statically,” Easton Head Football Coach Matt Griffith says. “Kevin had 34 touchdowns, and he surpassed his other brother Ryan in total yards.”
O’Connor guided Easton to an excellent season. He led Easton to an 8-4 record and a 62-36 playoff victory over visiting Parkside in mid-November, plus a 28-21 conquest over heated rival Kent Island. It was the first time Easton had won a home playoff game since 1993, and it had been more than 40 years since the Warriors won back-to-back playoff games. Considering the Warriors struggled to a 1-9 mark in 2023, it was quite a turnaround.
It should come as no surprise that Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia and Division I Merrimack College in Massachusetts expressed early interest in him. Since O’Connor missed time during both his sophomore and junior years, he and Griffith expect the interest from colleges to pick up this winter—with a scholarship possibly coming his way.
“I thought, ‘If I just work harder in the offseason and make my body healthier, then I won’t get injured again or have to deal with getting hurt,’” O’Connor says. “I am just happy to be playing again. It really is an awesome feeling.”
Griffith says the 17-year-old O’Connor’s tremendous work ethic helped him reach his potential. “We talked a lot about taking care of his body,” Griffith says. “He did everything he could to possibly make himself mentally stronger and better, so he could avoid those types of injuries from happening again.”
Some of O’Connor’s other 2024 games jump out. He threw four touchdown passes and 310 yards while completing 14 of 20 passes in a rout of Wicomico High. O’Connor also rushed for 250 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns and passed for 146 yards and two scores in a 42-24 victory over Kent Island.
Photographs courtesy O’Connor Family
“I never expected to be running the ball so much,” O’Connor says.
Easton Defensive Coordinator Al Waters calls O’Connor a dynamic player. “He has carried the team offensively,” says Waters, the former head football coach at Kent Island. “He is just a dominant player. He really understands the game and has a great football IQ. And he has the swagger.”
Waters says one part of Connor’s game is underrated: his ability to motivate his teammates. O’Connor served as team co-captain along with wide receivers Colin Mooney and Chase Raab and offensive lineman Tymiere Thomas.
“He does the little things that most people don’t see,” Waters explains. “They see his stats, but they don’t pay attention to his leadership abilities. He is really a great leader.”
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