Stampeding Through the 2025 USF Football Roster: #71 OL Connor McLaughlin
McLaughlin is one of two incoming transfers on the offensive line who could make a big impact.
PLAYER: Connor McLaughlin
POSITION: Offensive lineman (tackle)
YEAR: Redshirt senior
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'7", 295 lbs.
HOW DID HE GET HERE? A local kid who attended Jesuit, McLaughlin was a very well-regarded prospect (recruiting services had him in the high three-star, low four-star range) who had offers from the likes of Florida State, USC, and Miami. He ended up at Stanford, where he played sparingly during his first three seasons before breaking into the starting lineup in 2023 at right tackle. He played in 12 games in 2023, starting 11. This past season, he was in and out of the rotation, appearing in 11 games and making three starts, all at right tackle. He entered the transfer portal at the end of the season and committed to USF in December.
HOW WAS HIS 2024 SEASON? As mentioned above, McLaughlin entered 2024 as a returning starter at right tackle, but fell out of the first-team lineup after the Cardinal’s season-opening loss to TCU. From there on out he mostly saw action with the second-team unit and on special teams, but did make a couple starts late in the season against Wake Forest and NC State. This has served as an annual reminder for myself that Stanford plays in the ACC now. Gross!
Per PFF, McLaughlin saw the seventh-most snaps among Stanford’s offensive linemen last season.
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT IN 2025? To this point in his career, McLaughlin has played almost exclusively at tackle. As you know if you’ve been following this series, the Bulls need to replace RJ Perry at left tackle, who had a very quality 2024 season and signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent. Seems like a match made in heaven. McLaughlin has been training at both tackle spots in the spring, and is one of the favorites to replace Perry. His biggest competition for the job is probably Swiss army knife Jack Wilty, who played both tackle and guard for the Bulls in 2024 (if you’d like to be technical, the Bulls may end up shifting veteran Derek Bowman from right tackle to Perry’s spot at left tackle and have McLaughlin or Wilty step in at RT, but we’re really getting in the weeds here).
No matter where on the depth chart McLaughlin ends up, he’s a fantastic addition on paper. Apart from being a former power-conference starter, he’s a Tampa kid with ties to the university (his uncle, Doug Hollins, played baseball for the Bulls) and has a sterling academic resume (McLaughlin made the Pac-12 academic honor roll for three straight years). It’s hard not to get excited about McLaughlin’s homecoming season.