Arkansas is making it’s case as the top producer of NFL centers in the country, with at least two, if not three, starters to open the upcoming season.
In 2014. ESPN started donning it’s new “Position U” rankings, where Arkansas was named the first “Running Back U” of the 2000s.
That came on the heels of a great decade for Razorback ball-carriers, such as first-round picks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, as well as later-round picks Cedric Cobbs, Peyton Hillis, Knile Davis and Kiero Small.
McFadden even graced the cover of EA Sports’ College Football ’09, just three years before Hillis became the coverboy for the company’s Madden Football ’12.
But the tide has since turned, over the past decade, with unforeseen circumstance — and a few questionable coaching hires — sending the program into a tailspin. Arkansas’ prowess as a legitimate Division I football power hit an all-time low five years ago, before Head Coach Sam Pittman arrived in 2020 to begin cleaning up the mess.
Although the Hogs’ fortunes at running back have begun trending back in the right direction, thanks to workhorses like Rocket Sanders, AJ Green and Rashod Dubinion, it’s another offensive position that Arkansas is now putting its stamp on in the NFL.
A strong case can be made that the Razorbacks program has become “Center U”, especially in the scope of pro football.
Arkansas will have at least two centers starting for their respective teams when the season kicks off Sept. 7, as former first-round pick Frank Ragnow anchors the O-line in Detroit and fifth-year pro Hjalte Froholdt takes over in Arizona. There is also the possibility of a third, as Washington rookie Ricky Stromberg, a third-round pick in April’s NFL Draft, continues to battle for the position in preseason.
Arkansas is one of six schools to currently have two starting centers listed in the NFL — along with Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, UCLA and Wisconsin.
Ragnow was the nation’s top-graded center by Pro Football Focus as both a junior and senior at Arkansas. The Minnesota native was a three-year starter and team captain for the Razorbacks, before being the first center taken off the board in the 2018 draft.
The Danish-born Froholdt played alongside Ragnow for two seasons in Fayetteville, starting primarily at guard, before being chosen by New England in the fourth round in 2019. In his four NFL seasons, Froholdt has started just six games, all at guard, for Cleveland last season.
The Commanders drafted Stromberg to eventually be their starter, but he is making a strong push to get there sooner than later. The Tulsa Union product started all four seasons at Arkansas and was awarded the Jacobs Trophy as the SEC’s best blocker last year.
Within the past two decades, another pair of Razorbacks had illustrious college careers at center, before taking their talents to the pros. The most decorated was likely Pulaski Academy’s Jonathan Luigs, a consensus All-American and three-time All-SEC selection, who won the Remington Award as the nation’s best center in 2008. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2009 draft and started eight games for Cincinnati as a rookie, before hip injuries forced him to retire early.
Travis Swanson lettered four seasons for the Hogs from 2010-13, helping lead Arkansas to the 2011 Sugar Bowl. The Houston-area native was a third-round pick and started 43 games for Detroit from 2014-17, ironically being replaced by Ragnow the following season. He also started 11 games for Miami in 2018.
But Arkansas’ history of putting centers in the NFL is actually nothing new, and has been happening for nearly a century. Here is a list of other former Razorbacks who have played the position at the pro level:
- Kenneth “Kayo” Lunday, from Cleora, Okla., lettered for the Hogs in 1935-36, before spending five seasons with the New York Giants, from 1937-41. After stepping away from football for four years to fight in World War II, he returned to the Giants and started eight games at center in 1946-47.
- Lonoke’s Daryl Cato lettered for the Razorbacks from 1939-41. In his lone season as a member of the 1946 Miami Seahawks of the All-American Football Conference, he started three games at center.
- Smackover native Ken Hayden lettered two years at Arkansas in 1940-41. He then started five games at center for Philadelphia in 1942, and two games for Washington in 1943.
- Bob Griffin, of Frederick, Okla., lettered for the Hogs from 1949-51, then went on to play linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams from 1953-56. He became the team’s starting center in 1957, then after a three-year hiatus, Griffin returned in 1961, as a starting center for the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Batesville’s Fred Hageman began his collegiate career at Arkansas, before transferring to Kansas in 1957. He went on to start 44 games for the Redskins, from 1961-64.
- Jay Douglas came to Arkansas, out of North Little Rock High School, but ended up transferring to Memphis. He played in 28 games for the San Diego Chargers in 1973-74.
- RC Thielemann lettered all four seasons, mostly at guard, for the Razorbacks from 1973-76. The Houston-area native was a second-round draft pick before embarking on a lengthy All-Pro career in the NFL. He remained primarily at offensive guard, starting in 148 games during his career, but filled in at the center position on occasion. He played for Atlanta from 1977-84, before becoming one of the legendary Hogs of the Washington Redskins offensive line from 1985-88, where he helped lead the team to the Super Bowl in 1987.
- Tommie Ginn lettered at Arkansas from 1976-79, out of Berryville High School, He started five games at center for Detroit in 1980.
- Colorado native Steve Korte lettered at Arkansas in 1981-82, then became an anchor in New Orleans, as the Saints’ starting center for 63 games between 1983-89.
- Elbert Crawford lettered from 1986-89 and was the center for the Razorbacks’ back-to-back SWC championship teams in 1988-89. The Little Rock Hall product played in 30 games for New England in 1990-91, starting all 16 games in 1991.
