Tope is as skeptical of Connor as we are, apparently.
"It's hard to see who's progressing without seeing every practice. On the fan side of things, we only see who the starters are and that pretty much a good indicator of who is showing the most progression - or who is the most conistant in the correct way to block, rather. Some of the biggest probably with oline is pad level, hand placement, stepping underneath yourself, being late off the ball. 95% of the time if it's not a busted play or you just getting your ass beat outright by like a bull rush, it's one of those things. For example, If you see Hayden Connor stepping underneath himself in 2021, and hes doing the same in 2024 and he's a starter, he's either a) knows his assignment and where/when he sometimes to be there or b) there's no one pushing him in terms taking his spot - and thats an indicator of the guys behind him. Ultimately, to notice these things, you have to identifiy who was beat, how they got beat, then why. It's hard to work backwards like this when they game is happening in real time because it's easier to watch the skill guys do cool shit. I still know guys on the Oline so I have a vested interested in what they do more."