Former football player, Conner Lierz, tells why HutchCC is the right fit for coaching

By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
X: @gmklein32

Finding something you are passionate about and making a career out of it may be difficult for some, while others are happily living out their dream career.

Conner Lierz, like many others, had a passion for football but did not know that he wanted to be a coach until later in his academic career.

“I think I always wanted to be around football,” Lierz said. “I’m not sure I knew what it was exactly until my last year at Emporia State. I thought it’d be a good path and I didn’t really want to step away from the game.”

Lierz is now the tight end/assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Hutchinson Community College football team. This is his first year on the coaching staff but is already familiar with the Blue Dragons since he played from 2018 to 2019.

Growing up in Manhattan, Lierz had some opportunities to play football out of high school, but mainly from junior colleges, including the Blue Dragons as one of his options.

“Choosing Hutch was a big opportunity,” Lierz said. “I knew how successful they were and where they send players to at the next level, so I knew that was the right choice.

During his second year at HutchCC, Lierz was named a 2019 all-conference honorable mention selection for the No. 3-ranked Blue Dragons. Working closely with Lierz was current Blue Dragons coach Drew Dallas. At the time, Dallas was an assistant head coach and tight ends coach for the 2019 season.

“He always worked really hard when he was here as a player,” Dallas said. “He was always very intelligent and understood our offense.”

After HutchCC, Lierz transferred to Emporia State to continue his football and academic career. At ESU, Lierz was a two-year starter and two-year all-MIAA performer. He was named first team in 2022 and second team in 2021.

Transferring to a new program can be stressful and overwhelming but Lierz was confident that the Blue Dragons prepared him for the next level.

“The biggest thing was just the coaches that I was around,” Lierz said. “All of them were fairly successful in the profession, so just having them prepare me for the next level, whether that was to be a coach, to be a player, is probably the biggest thing (that helped me).”

From being a Blue Dragon himself to playing at the NCAA Division II level, Lierz said he understands HutchCC’s consistency and support throughout the program.

“Hutch has constantly had good coaches,” Lierz said. “They just keep it rolling with guys that want to be here and coach for the right reasons.”

Once he graduated from ESU, Lierz made the decision that he wanted to return to HutchCC to coach.

“I think the biggest thing was coach Dallas,” Lierz said. “Just meeting with him, and then the offense coordinator, line coach, Coach Kay (Tony Koehling) recruited me from Hutch to Emporia State. I knew they were really good coaches, and it was a great opportunity, especially at a place like this.”

Lierz has put in the work in the same program which gives him the unique advantage that other coaches on different coaching staffs may not have.

“I think it can be a little different because I’m a player and I’m younger than most of the staff,” Lierz said. “It’s kind of interesting just to see their coaching styles and kind of how I want to coach. So I think the biggest thing is just the growth factor that I’ve got to get from the experience.”

Having that coach-to-player connection can be a struggle at times, but Dallas said he is confident in Lierz’s abilities, especially with his experience as a player.

“He understands our offense because he’s been through it,” Dallas said. “It was easy for him to pick up on it when he got back to it. He’s learned from some good coaches down in Emporia State and what they were able to do offensively. He works extremely hard and I think with his experience of being through this offense as a player, he can relate well to his guys and his position.”

The Blue Dragons will play against Georgia Military at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at Davenport Field.

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