a low-pad JUCO grinder who brought Big Ten-ready nastiness to Illinois
In the 2015-16 Illinois run, Connor Brennan was a 6-foot-5, 300-pound interior lineman who played in 11 games with four starts at guard in 2016 after seeing action in six games in 2015, which tells you he was trusted to do the dirty work inside[1][7][8]. His calling card was a low pad level and physical edge coming out of City College of San Francisco, where he was rated among the nation’s better junior-college guards and arrived with a reputation for toughness rather than flash[7][12]. If you need a smart, steady interior OL who can help in a phone-booth game, Brennan fit the mold; if you’re looking for twitchy pass-protecting star power, he was more functional enforcer than headline act[1][7][12].
