[7] After his grandmother was placed in a nursing home due to Parkinson's disease, Conrad lived with his uncle, a Marine who had served in the Vietnam War.
[2][6] When Conrad arrived at Oklahoma in 1992, both of the school's centers were struggling with injuries, and the team needed someone else to start at the position.
"I thought it was a joke at first," Conrad said of the change, but he made the adjustment quickly and successfully[6] with only two fumbled snaps all season.
[3] Listed at 6 feet 5 inches and 311 pounds that season, he was a key contributor to an offensive line that was ranked one of the best in the country and made way for a strong rushing attack by running backs James "Lightning" Allen and Jerald "Thunder" Moore.
[12] Head coach Gary Gibbs announced he was stepping down from his position just before the Sooners' final regular season game, a matchup against No.
Conrad was among the Oklahoma players who believed Gibbs had been unfairly criticized for factors out of his control, and that he had done his best to elevate the team from the troublesome state it had previously been in.
Conrad also started at right tackle in the 1994 Copper Bowl against Brigham Young University, which the Sooners lost by a score of 31–6.
[8] Conrad suffered a shoulder injury early in the 1995 season, and team doctors suggested that he undergo surgery and redshirt for the remainder of the year.
[2] On December 25, 1995, Conrad participated in the annual Blue-Gray Game as a member of the Blue (northern) team, which won by a score of 26–7.
However, the Jets failed to report Duffy as injured to the league, resulting in a violation of the injury policy when Conrad started in his place.
[27] While watching an Oklahoma high school all-state game, Conrad suddenly received a call from the Dallas Cowboys, inviting him to come to training camp.
He initially did not believe it was a legitimate request for him to actually play with the team, as he had not been involved in football in about two years[7] and had put on some weight, now weighing in at about 330 pounds.
[29] Despite being cut by the team, the opportunity to play with NFL greats like Larry Allen turned Conrad's opinions on the world back around.
[31] In January 2005, Conrad became the offensive and defensive lines coach for the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz,[32] a developmental arena football team that was coming off a successful debut season.
They made two more playoff appearances, despite having a losing record in 2007 amid a season-ending injury to safety Jon Holland, described as the "cornerstone of [their] defense.