Connor Heyward (born January 22, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

and fullback for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

Early life and high school

Heyward grew up in

Duluth, Georgia Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, Duluth had a population of 31,873, and the United States Census Bureau estimated the po ...

and attended

Peachtree Ridge High School Peachtree Ridge High School (PRHS) is a public high school in Gwinnett County, in Suwanee, Georgia, United States. It is a part of Gwinnett County Public Schools. It is one of two public schools in the county to use block scheduling, the other ...

College career

Heyward rushed for ten yards on three carries and caught four passes for 13 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore, he rushed 118 times for 529 yards and five touchdowns and had 32 catches for 249 yards. After losing his starting position after the first game of his junior season to Elijah Collins Heyward later left the team and entered the NCAA transfer portal. He later returned to the team and

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

the year. Heyward led the Spartans with 65 carries and had 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns with 18 receptions for 71 yards and two touchdowns in the team's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. Prior to his redshirt senior season, Heyward moved from running back to H-back and

. He caught 35 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns in his final season.

Professional career

Heyward was selected in the sixth round with the 208th overall pick in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

by the

. Heyward scored his first professional touchdown during Week 13 at the Atlanta Falcons, a 17-yard catch, getting both feet inbounds at the back of the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Heyward is the son of

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

NFL player

Craig Heyward Craig William "Ironhead" Heyward (September 26, 1966 – May 27, 2006) was an American professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He then played ...

. His older brother, Cameron Heyward, is an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

defensive tackle for the

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bioMichigan State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heyward, Connor 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football fullbacks American football tight ends Michigan State Spartans football players Pittsburgh Steelers players