Conner plays both guard and center (he can bounce outside to tackle in a pinch, but the Cardinals want to use him inside) and the team has openings on the depth chart for the taking.
"Every rookie comes in like a chicken with their head cut off," starting center Hjalte Froholdt said. "I sure was like that in my first year. (Hayden) has settled in well. We're trying to get him settled into the O-line room. He's had some good jokes, they are making hot dogs for us and making sure they know the standard. Hayden has been killing it."
The mental part of the game will be just fine. He was accepted into the UT physics school as a freshman, but he admittedly struggled. He was resolute in his future and was in the transition to aerospace engineering as a sophomore when it was apparent it wouldn't marry up with his football schedule.
He called his Dad seeking advice but in many ways, the decision had already been made for him. Conner had attended a NASA aerospace program while in high school that had been geography-based, so he chose to major in Geography.
It was not an easy path, yet Conner acknowledges it was a filler because it wasn't what he wanted to do. There is a possibility he eventually goes back for his aerospace degree. That isn't now.
"I'm a football player trying to find a role," Conner said. "But it's always in the back of my mind."
The split personality helps bring a knowing smile to his face when he is asked, if he had a choice, if he would prefer to pick the brain of some of the most famous offensive linemen, or the most famous astronauts.
"That's a rude question," Conner said, pondering the idea. "I don't know. Right now for my career, football players. But general nerding out, it'd be the astronauts."