J.R. Conrad is a former Fairland, University of Oklahoma and NFL offensive lineman, football coach and trainer. He was born February 2, 1974 in Miami, Oklahoma.

Conrad was an offensive lineman at Fairland High School, where he also played on the defensive line and handled kicking duties. He also attended the football camp of Kansas City Chiefs' nose guard Bill Maas prior to his senior season and was named the outstanding offensive lineman of the camp.

As a senior, he was named All-State as well as to the 1991 Oklahoma Associated Press High School Super Team for his work on the offensive line and the Gatorade Oklahoma and Southwest Region Player of the Year after making 143 tackles on defense.

He also played basketball and participated in weightlifting and track and field, where he was a regional champion in the shot put as a senior.

Conrad chose to sign with the Oklahoma Sooners and because of injuries to the Sooners' centers, became the first true freshman to start at the position -- which he had never played or practiced previously -- in OU history.

He started every game of his freshman season and earned freshman All-American honors.

As a sophomore, he switched back to left tackle and again played in every game. In 1994, the Sooners moved Conrad to right tackle. He again played in every game for OU that season.

As a senior, Conrad suffered a shoulder injury early in the season. Opting not to undergo surgery, he re-habbed the shoulder and missed two games, returning to start the final nine games and was chosen to play in the annual Blue-Gray Game that December.

Conrad was a seventh-round draft pick of the New England Patriots in 1996 and spent the whole season on the practice squad. In 1997, he signed with the New York Jets as a free agent and made one start. A back injury prior to the 1998 season forced back surgery and he never played in a professional game again.

In 2001, Conrad turned to coaching, first as an assistant at Crooked Oak High School, then at Tuttle. In 2005, he was hired by the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of the Arena League to coach both the offensive and defensive line.

In 2009, he returned to high school coaching at Dibble. After two years as an assistant, he became head coach in 2011, winning 16 games in three seasons. He resigned in 2014 to focus on his children's athletic development.

Today, Conrad is the founder of the wildly successful offensive line training academy known as "Trench Mafia". Conrad's program has produced some top offensive line stars, including Creed Humphrey of the Shawnee Wolves, Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas City Chiefs and Owen Condon, former Bishop McGuinness, Georgia and SMU offensive lineman.

The academy is offered free of charge, but is offered by invitation only. Many of today's top offensive linemen in the state of Oklahoma train with Trench Mafia.