Hayden Conner (born April 26, 2002) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

and was selected by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

Early life and high school

Conner attended James E. Taylor High School in

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

, and was rated as a four-star recruit in the class of 2021 before committing to play

for the

College career

As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 2021, Conner appeared in eight games for the Longhorns. He took over a starting guard position, where he started for all of the 2022 and 2023 seasons for Texas. During the 2024 season, Conner was named to the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and was a

Wuerffel Trophy The Wuerffel Trophy is an award given annually to the college football player "who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement." The trophy, designed by W. Stanley Proctor and named in honor of former Univers ...

semifinalist for his support of animal shelters in the Austin area, as well as a number of other volunteer efforts. After the season, he declared for the 2025 NFL draft. During his time as a Longhorn, Conner appeared in 51 games for Texas with 43 starts.

Professional career

Conner was selected by the

with the 211th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bioTexas Longhorns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conner, Hayden 2002 births Living people Players of American football from Katy, Texas American football offensive guards Texas Longhorns football players Arizona Cardinals players