The Steelers drafted James Conner in the third round of the NFL draft Friday night. Here's how it played out.

Just before 11:30 p.m. Friday, in a private, glass-walled dining room attached to the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant on Interchange Road, James Conner's cellphone lit up with a call.

Conner had been nervously pumping his legs for the past 10 or 15 minutes while sitting in a chair facing three flat-screen televisions airing the NFL Draft.

He wore a black, long-sleeved T-shirt with "Conner" in large, block letters down the right arm and "Strong" down the left. As the room came to life, camera operators and fans with smartphones sprang to their feet around him anticipating the moment, and Conner pressed his phone tightly against one ear and an index finger to the other.

The third round of the draft had just ended, and a series of supplemental selections — picks meted out by the league through a formula that compensates teams for free agent losses — were quickly coming off the board.

As Conner listened to the caller on the other end of the line, the 101st overall pick, the fifth of 11 total compensatory picks, this one belonging to the Denver Broncos, was in, according to a graphic ESPN flashed on the screen.

The Steelers were due up four picks later, at No. 105, a selection they received via the league's collectively-bargained formula for having lost tackle Kelvin Beachum, safety Antwon Blake, fullback Will Johnson and linebacker Sean Spence via free agency while adding tight end Ladarius Green and tackle Ryan Harris.

This is the call Conner had been waiting for all night. For two nights, really, having stationed himself at the restaurant among family, friends, former coaches and teammates and a handful of media outlets to watch the draft play out, beginning with Thursday's first round.

Guests had been told by family friend Mike Gallagher that when they saw Conner scramble to answer his phone, the wait would have ended.

When Conner picked up, his agent, Ryan Tollner of Rep1 Sports in Irvine, California, told him his phone would be ringing again soon. According to Gallagher, Tollner instructed him to answer only if it came from a "412" area code.

At long last, it was over.

A few miles from McDowell High School's Gus Anderson Field, where he emerged as a Division I prospect, and steps from Interstate 79, the artery connecting Erie with Pittsburgh, where he rose to stardom at Pitt and out-dueled Jameis Winston for ACC Player of the Year honors, Conner was about to become an NFL running back.

'Let's win the Super Bowl'

"It's a dream come true," Conner said, his eyes welling with tears.

Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats had just made it official, announcing from a podium outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, at the base of the famous "Rocky" steps, that the team had selected Conner. General manager Kevin Colbert — whose call had come in a few minutes earlier, as Tollner promised — and head coach Mike Tomlin, were unwilling to gamble that Conner would still be around when they came back on the clock with the 29th pick in the fourth round, 135th overall.

"I got the opportunity I wanted and I'm ready to go to work right now," Conner said after pulling on a white Steelers ball cap. "Let's go. Let's win the Super Bowl."

No team knew Conner better than the Steelers, on and off the field.

His accomplishments at Pitt, where his 3,733 rushing yards are second all-time behind Tony Dorsett and where he broke ACC records for total touchdowns (56) and rushing touchdowns (52), played out right under Colbert's and Tomlin's noses at Heinz Field. Conner had trained at the complex Pitt and the Steelers share on Pittsburgh's south side. He had waged a nationally-publicized battle to overcome Hodgkin lymphoma in the city, undergoing chemotherapy treatments during the winter and spring of 2016 at Pittsburgh's Hillman Cancer Center.

One after another, Steelers past and present, from Franco Harris to Le'Veon Bell to Ben Roethlisberger, had supported him during his recovery and comeback. Roethlisberger was among those who called late Friday night to congratulate Conner and welcome him to the fold, Gallagher said.

But the Steelers were adamant that in Conner they drafted not a feel-good, made-for-the-silver-screen narrative but someone running backs coach James Saxon called "a no frills" player who fits their mold.

"This is not a story about sentiment," said Saxon, who interviewed Conner during a pre-draft visit. "This is a story about a young man who is a very good football player. I hope that the guys that we play against are sentimental, because he's gonna share with them some sentimental, physical things."

Tomlin delivered a similar message when he spoke with Conner shortly after the pick was made.

"I know it's surreal. I know it's an unbelievable thing, but you've got to get over that," Tomlin told him. "We got work to do."

'I know a lot of teams were scared'

And yet, Conner's back story is too compelling to go away.

ESPN and NFL Films both had crews at his draft party. ESPN will air a segment on Sunday morning sometime between 11:30 a.m. and noon about Conner's saga, including his relationship with Ian Malesiewski, the Cathedral Prep student who suffered a spinal injury during a wrestling tournament last summer. A longer piece about Conner will air on the network sometime this fall. NFL Films and NFL Network plan their own Conner segments.

Late Friday night, as reports of his selection by the Steelers spread on social media, well wishes poured in from all corners of the football world and beyond.

Pat Narduzzi, his coach the past two seasons at Pitt, made it clear in comments posted on Twitter that this was more than the usual NFL draft success moment.

"I don't think you could script James' story any better," Narduzzi said. "It really sounds like a Hollywood movie. Over the past 18 months, James has overcome a knee injury, defeated cancer and inspired countless people along the way. Tonight he is not only an NFL draft pick but gets selected by the hometown Steelers. It's just incredible."

In the days leading up to the draft, Conner wrote an open letter to NFL general managers for the Players' Tribune website asking them to see him as something more than a cancer survivor.

“I mean, at this point I’m pretty much recognized around the world as ‘that football player who battled Hodgkin’s and then came back to play the following year,’” Conner wrote. “I’ve come to realize that me being a cancer survivor is something I’ll never get away from. It’s a part of my story, no doubt. But I’m writing you today to let you know that I am more than the guy who beat cancer.”

On Friday night, after the pick was made, he acknowledged the role his health history likely played in his draft stature.

"I know a lot of teams were scared," he said. "They (the Steelers) gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and they're going to get a great football player."

'I think he's going to be a very angry guy'

Conner figures to get the chance to become Bell's backup this season. The Steelers had only five running backs listed on their roster heading into the draft: Bell, Knile Davis, Gus Johnson, Dreamius Smith and Fitzgerald Toussaint. None have Conner's credentials.

Veteran DeAngelo Williams, who rushed for 1,250 yards and 15 touchdowns the past two seasons while Bell was resting, injured or suspended, isn't under contract and, at age 34, has said he is considering retirement.

Saxon said the Steelers will need to evaluate Conner as a receiver and in pass protection, but added that they like his downhill running style and work ethic.

"What he does as a football player is what we want," Saxon said.

Still, after a career in which he averaged 5.6 yards per carry and was at his best in some of Pitt's biggest games — including 132 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the Panthers' 43-42 upset of eventual College Football Playoff champion Clemson — Conner watched six running backs come off the board before him.

Although he never lost composure during the wait, his mounting impatience became clear as the third round dragged on and four backs — Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon, Alvin Kamara and Kareem Hunt — went in front of him on Friday night. With nearly every pick, his eyes flashed from the televisions to his phone. The room became tense each time one of the teams thought to be most interested in him — the Eagles, Seahawks, Raiders and Steelers — went on the clock, causing the TV crews to scramble into position to record his reaction.

But Conner said he never lost faith.

"I knew I was gonna be in the NFL one day," Conner said. "With everything I've been through this was just a little bump in the road."

While Conner stopped short of saying his draft position would become added fuel early in his career, Mark Soboleski, his coach at McDowell, insisted otherwise.

“Watching James through this whole process was almost heart-wrenching,” Soboleski said. “I think it was grinding on him. I think he’s going to be a very angry guy that wants to prove something, the way he’s always played. Pittsburgh couldn’t be getting a better guy.”

John Dudley can be reached at 870-1677 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNdudley.