Washington State Cougars 2012 Evaluations: QB Connor Halliday
By Caleb Davis
Nov 17, 2012; Tempe, AZ, USA; Washington State Cougars quarterback Halliday Connor (12) prepares for the snap during the second quarter against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
Statistics:
152 completions, 291 attempts, 1878 yards, 15 Touchdowns, 13 interceptions
What he did in 2012: Very high expectations were put on Connor Halliday the second he stepped into the Arizona State game in 2011 and brought the Cougars blazing back to victory and the next week when he almost led the team to victory in overtime vs a good Utah team but just came up short. Last year Connor was almost disappointing with his questionable decision making and his TD to INT ratio. Connor showed promise at times but then didn’t come out the same kid week to week, maybe its inexperience or maybe he just didn’t have the ability to consistently perform at a high level. He did some things really well, like opening up the field and taking chances but he also did things very poorly, like reading the defense and anticipating pressure. He seemed to still be getting used to the offense and couldn’t own it like we were hoping he would when he was given the nod to start. He constantly was in a battle with Jeff Tuel for the starting job but just when it looked like he had taken over the job, he would have a terrible game and hand things back to Jeff. He displayed promise once again racking up heaps of passing yards at a time.
What I expect in 2013: I expect Connor to take over this program next year. He has had time running the system and obviously has the ability. I think his reads will improve and his decision making will be greatly improved by the time the season starts. There will be a little competition by the time the season starts for the starting job but I expect Connor to really take control and become a leader. You can tell when you see him on the sidelines that he could make this “his” team. His teammates love him, the fans love him, now all he needs is to take it and run. Look for this guy to finally take the reigns and be the consistent starter for Washington State next year. A very important role we’ve been missing since Alex Brink.