Next year's O-Line. Heaviest and most experienced in the SEC.

[JayBell]

Let's not forget about Rogers.

He's Hogville's new Wallace, aka the amazing lineman who doesn't play near as much as the board experts say he should.

I don't know enough about Rogers to say whether or not he's good enough, but if he was as good as some on here think he is, then I think he would have played in one of the numerous opportunities the team had to play him this season.

Just like with Wallace last year.  So many on here were convinced he would be the blind side tackle instead of Skipper.  Not only was Wallace not the blind side starter, but it took four games for Colton Jackson to play himself out of the spot.

All that to say Rogers may be good, but I think Raulerson has the inside track to be the next center behind Ragnow, just like Skipper always had the inside track to take over on the blind side this year.

[gchamblee]

One of these days, a lot of Hogvillers will, grudgingly figure out why Arkansas seems to have entire groups of players who don't seem to catch on or just cannot be fast enough or smart enough or dedicated enough, etc.  You know, it is not unusual for a player or 2 in a group of say offensive linemen or WRs or D-linemen to just fail.  Could be a lost girlfriend, trouble at home, cannot seem to hit the books well enough to stay eligible, lost their lust to play the game, etc..  But here in Hogland, we have for example, a large group of D-linemen who were well on their way, only to do a mass failure along the way.  Our WRs, none of them knew jack crap about their job, too slow, couldn't catch a fever, mush less a ball,  couldn't separate from a snail and then Hatcher was allowed on the field mostly as the best loser of the bunch.  He kind of caught on and was praised as the only one who knew jack crap and then damn, he got seriously injured and we had to use one of the barking dogs to just take up space and durn, he had the audacity to go play pretty well and then another and then another until we ended up with a decent bunch, all forced onto the field just so we could have someone, anyone stumble around in those spots on the field.  And then the O-line, which is the centerpiece of our team, but oops, we ran slap dab out of those Guys.  Couldn't find a winner among the bunch.  Everyone of them couldn't do their job inside the 5 or 25 or eventually anywhere on the field.  AA got bitch slapped and overrun every time he attempted to pass.  Yep, it is odd how we just lose the entire group quite often, especially with all the super duper training, conditioning and mental preparedness they get Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.  You just gotta admit. wes about the most unluckiest team around with this group failure syndrome.  But we just gotta realize it takes time.  Be patient.  If a particular group or groups end up all being failures, well, you just gotta wait till the next group comes along.  Be patient.

dude this looks like someone dropped a can of alphabet soup from the top of the empire state building

[gchamblee]

Skipper is a mauler......he's just too big to be a technical OL.


He's tough, mean, and great in the open field.  Probably not an NFL lineman unless he's a platoon player.

my favorite part about skipper was you did not want to be the guy still pushing on our qb or rb after the whistle because he was already coming to peel you off.

[Justagp]

dude this looks like someone dropped a can of alphabet soup from the top of the empire state building

Lol - have a heart! Apparently dude was feeling no pain at the time of writing this drivel.  I, personally, appreciate his concern for AA getting bitch slapped and the emotional issues some of our player may be experiencing. 

[JayBell]

my favorite part about skipper was you did not want to be the guy still pushing on our qb or rb after the whistle because he was already coming to peel you off.

It's still fun to watch this huge lineman always be the first or second guy in the end zone celebrating touchdowns with whoever scored.

[redleg]

Jackson, Froholdt, Ragnow, Gibson, Wallace

That very well could be the starting O-Line. But Jake Hall might challenge Jackson at LT, and Merrick will be a strong candidate to earn time at one of the guard spots.
I would not be shocked if CBB moved Ragnow to LT. He's got that kind of talent. That would move Zach Rogers or Jake Raulerson to starting center.
Froholdt's pass blocking got better as 2016 went along. He's super strong, smart, and talented. I fully expect him to be even better at run-blocking (which is saying a lot, since he was a road grader for the RB's in 2016), but I can see his pass blocking improving drastically next year.
:razorback:

[JayBell]

I don't think anyone other than Wallace or Ragnow will be in any kind of serious contention for LT next season.  You want your best tackle to be the blind side protection for your quarterback.  I told everyone a year ago it'd be Skipper.  Colton Jackson is not going to go from playing his way out of the RT spot to taking over on the blind side.

If Ragnow comes back and learns he projects better as a tackle, the spot is his.  If Ragnow goes pro or stays at center, Wallace will be LT.  The only real competition for playing time next year, IMO, will be for anyone who might take over at RT if Wallace moves.

[Count De Money]

The offensive line needs to each drop at least 20 lbs and work on quickness and speed.  They're to slow for the light SEC quality defensive lines.  Speed kills.

[IronHog]

I don't think anyone other than Wallace or Ragnow will be in any kind of serious contention for LT next season.  You want your best tackle to be the blind side protection for your quarterback.  I told everyone a year ago it'd be Skipper.  Colton Jackson is not going to go from playing his way out of the RT spot to taking over on the blind side.

If Ragnow comes back and learns he projects better as a tackle, the spot is his.  If Ragnow goes pro or stays at center, Wallace will be LT.  The only real competition for playing time next year, IMO, will be for anyone who might take over at RT if Wallace moves.

Jackson is their best OT prospect athletically.

He can play there if he wants too......

[MountieDawg]

This years defense brought back 9 players.  Be careful what you wish for, bring back most of your players from an awful unit is not necessarily a good thing.

[lutherheggs]

This years defense brought back 9 players.  Be careful what you wish for, bring back most of your players from an awful unit is not necessarily a good thing.

Boom goes the dynamite.

[jgphillips3]

How about Rogers taking over at Center and Ragnow moving out to LT?

I'm a fan of this...IF...Ragnow has the footwork for it.

[311Hog]

found it interesting in all the play off matchup talk yesterday that the talking heads said Bama players to a man "lost" 15 pounds for speed.  There does seem to be some positive evidence to this "slimming down for speed" trend.  I have always thought our S&C coach was an amazing hire, but he might need to try something new for this team and for the future.

[carolinahogger]

The S&C coach needs to make our offensive linemen wider.  That way it will take defenders longer to run past them.

[Hollywood870]

Next years OL. probably no better than this year.  Defense, unless heads roll, worse than this year.

Why do some people think the line will not come back improved after they mature for another year? How many times have you seen a young group struggle, take their licks, then come back stronger as they age? Plus four of them may be back together. Do some of you even watch football? No way the line doesn't improve substantially. 100% guarantee. Seen it happen for many different teams. For 30 plus years.

[Hollywood870]

I saw a smaller defense shove this years OL down on the ground and have their way with them in the 2nd half at Mizzou.  I think I'll see much the same next year with every team we play pretty much pushing our overweight OL around and falling on themselves.  CBB likes his big boys but they don't do much, excuse me, they don't do any more than any other line I've seen in all of College Ball.

We were having our way until we abandoned the run against Mizzu. Panic by the OC.

[Quickdraw]

How many wins does this translate into?

I'll say "7 wins" about like this year.

[jcbville]

I'm optimistic that we could have a beast of an oline in 2017. We'll see. Could be misplaced optimism but the pieces are there.

[jcbville]

dude this looks like someone dropped a can of alphabet soup from the top of the empire state building

Bro. That's insulting to dropped cans of alphabet soup. They spell out more legit opinions.

[Nuttcracker, Sweet!]

Something that has not been brought up in this discussion is that the O line coach changed and KA changed stances and a lot of techniques were different from those of Pittman. The schemes were more pro style and those kind of changes after 3 years of another scheme take time.

Froholdt was a total novice on offense, Wallace hadn't played much, Jackson redshirted in 2015 and Gibson had not played other than special teams.

Florida's ballyhooed defense hardly got close to AA all day, but in other games, he was flogged. Consistency was lacking with all the changes both in scheme and personnel.

Kirkland and Tretola were the two best run blockers, both are in the NFL this season...A lot depends on what happens with Ragnow, but overall in the 2nd year of the new schemes and a year's experience for several players, the line should be better.

I wonder if some of these people calling for more "speed" on the O line ever watch any other teams... Speed on the O line? Really? Short term quickness is good, especially for the tackles, but I will guarantee 'Bama's O line would not win any races... in a race with a pregnant woman, nearly any O lineman would finish third..

[texas tush hog]

I think he leaves, but have nothing but my opinion on it. I think he will get a good grade, or good enough to entice him to enter the draft.

Nope

[gmarv]

Why do some people think the line will not come back improved after they mature for another year? How many times have you seen a young group struggle, take their licks, then come back stronger as they age? Plus four of them may be back together. Do some of you even watch football? No way the line doesn't improve substantially. 100% guarantee. Seen it happen for many different teams. For 30 plus years.

i,m with you they will be better and could be much better.our offense looks like it is setting up to look like our offense of 2015.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Something that has not been brought up in this discussion is that the O line coach changed and KA changed stances and a lot of techniques were different from those of Pittman. The schemes were more pro style and those kind of changes after 3 years of another scheme take time.

Froholdt was a total novice on offense, Wallace hadn't played much, Jackson redshirted in 2015 and Gibson had not played other than special teams.

Florida's ballyhooed defense hardly got close to AA all day, but in other games, he was flogged. Consistency was lacking with all the changes both in scheme and personnel.

Kirkland and Tretola were the two best run blockers, both are in the NFL this season...A lot depends on what happens with Ragnow, but overall in the 2nd year of the new schemes and a year's experience for several players, the line should be better.

I wonder if some of these people calling for more "speed" on the O line ever watch any other teams... Speed on the O line? Really? Short term quickness is good, especially for the tackles, but I will guarantee 'Bama's O line would not win any races... in a race with a pregnant woman, nearly any O lineman would finish third..

I agree that it isn't about "straight-line" speed, as in 40's times. It is more about quickness at the snap, reaction time, etc. The confidence in, and the quickness of the first step in the right place can make all of the difference, but the success of that one step is dependent upon everyone else on the O-Line recognizing and doing the right thing on every play. As one singular example, you can't have a LG pulling to the right and being obstructed by the DT over him being right in his hip pocket when he pulls, knocking him deeper into the backfield and thus, disrupting the entire play. Someone, like the Center, has to be blocking back against the man over him, taking away the ability to follow the LG and push him deeper into the backfield than originally planned. Yet we failed to see this happen on more than one occasion and it disrupted the entire play. Everyone on the O-Line has to function as one unit and you can't allow D-Linemen to make a 1-2 yard deep penetration against your O-Line on any play. We saw a lot of that happen this year.

It is more like the performance of chorus line than an individual ballet performance. Everyone has to be in step at the exact right time.

[rickfahr]

If Ragnow stays we will have a good Oline i feel safe in saying, maybe even great.  Replacing Skipper i think will be harder than some expect.  The man brought a toughness to the group and a stability, but it is also possible that the Oline is improved by his departure in terms of the increased referee presence his reputation brought (negative).

I hope Ragnow returns with the back field we will be returning it could be special.

Did you not see Skipper get pushed around and run around time after time after freakin' time all season? I can't count how many times I screamed about him to my uncle, who thinks he walks on water, only to watch him get shoved into AA on the next play.

[al_pigcino]

Did you not see Skipper get pushed around and run around time after time after freakin' time all season? I can't count how many times I screamed about him to my uncle, who thinks he walks on water, only to watch him get shoved into AA on the next play.

Yeah, I think you're blowing this out of proportion. 

[Youngsta71701]

Yeah, I think you're blowing this out of proportion.

He does have a tendency for getting a penalty at the wrong time though.

[311Hog]

Did you not see Skipper get pushed around and run around time after time after freakin' time all season? I can't count how many times I screamed about him to my uncle, who thinks he walks on water, only to watch him get shoved into AA on the next play.

You don't become SEC All American if you suck.  Did i see Skipper get beat sometimes? yes everyone does there isn't an OL walking this earth that hasn't been beaten badly on a play or two.  And has he gotten bad penalties? absolutely, but my point was he was consistent.  You could count him him every day for several years that is hard to replace.  He was tough, and he brought a reputation both good and bad to our program that will also be tough to replace.

But all this being said it "might" be better to have a more prototypical LT which is what Wallace and possibly Ragnow will bring.  Personally i hope Ragnow stays at Center and Wallace grows to into an elite level LT.

[al_pigcino]

But all this being said it "might" be better to have a more prototypical LT which is what Wallace and possibly Ragnow will bring.

This is more of the case.  He's not naturally a good left tackle.  He's a little too off balance on his blocking and doesn't do a great job keeping his hips underneath him.......which might be due to being 6'10.  Even with his height he seemed to do a lot better on the inside because the speed and leverage of the big men were negated.  Considering he made all American playing out of position is a testament to what's been done here with development. 

[texhog22]

Yea, Heaviest and worst in the SEC. And most experienced at getting smoked!! This wasnt a pretty good young Oline that is coming back next year, This is maybe the worst Oline in the last 40 years coming back. Guess what?

[texhog22]

I'm optimistic that we could have a beast of an oline in 2017. We'll see. Could be misplaced optimism but the pieces are there.

"Do Whaaaaat"?

[BigE_23]

I think he leaves, but have nothing but my opinion on it. I think he will get a good grade, or good enough to entice him to enter the draft.

IMO his dad passing away makes it more likely that he leaves to take care of his family. I don't expect him to stay, and I wouldn't at all blame him for leaving.

[redleg]

Would have three 4 stars, a 3 star, and a walk on starting. What's funny is I think the walk on is the best out of all of them. You don't just come out serving pancakes against Florida in your first ever start.

Burlsworth started his career as a walk-on. No, I am not saying Gibson is equal to Burlsworth...I am saying that sometimes kids get overlooked, and it takes them a few years after high school to come into their own, so being a walk-on sometimes isn't a negative.
:razorback:

[redleg]

Yea, Heaviest and worst in the SEC. And most experienced at getting smoked!! This wasnt a pretty good young Oline that is coming back next year, This is maybe the worst Oline in the last 40 years coming back. Guess what?

Worst in 40 years, huh? Gee, I don't know, I seem to remember some pretty bad O-Lines over the last 40 seasons...like 1992, 1993, 1994, 1983, 2004, 2008, 2012. But 2016 was the worst? Me thinks you are overstating things juuuuust a tad.

Brian Wallace
Hjalte Froholdt
Frank Ragnow - IF he returns, if not then Zach Rogers
Johnny Gibson
Colton Jackson or Jalen Merrick
That's a pretty good O-Line.
:razorback:

[HoggieStyle]

Mississippi Stank had the biggest O-line in college football for years, and they sucked. Bigger isn't better. Better is better.

[redleg]

Miss St didn't have the quality recruits that CBB and Arkansas can get on the Line.
With Ragnow confirming he is returning for 2017, the O-Line will be even better.
Ragnow, Wallace, Froholdt, Jackson, and Merrick were all 4* recruits. Gibson was apparantly a vastly underrated 2*. The Line will be a year older, wiser, and better in 2017. As long as some receivers and tight ends step up to replace the ones we lost, the Hogs offense will be potent!
It's the defense I am worried about.
:razorback:

[FANONTHEHILL]

In underclassmen practices in this bowl prep period it's been left to right-

Jackson Froholdt Ragnow Gibson Wallace

[Hollywood870]

In underclasen practices in this bowl prep period it's been left to right-

Jackson Froholdt Ragnow Gibson Wallace

Good. Jackson looks like the best athlete of the bunch as far as agility.

[JayBell]

I'll bet they're putting Jackson over there just to keep continuity across the rest of the line for bowl prep.  Your best tackle protects the blind side.  I'm betting Wallace goes to LT next season.  Jackson will have to hold off Merrick at RT.  Raulerson and Rogers will be the interior backups. 

[Dominicanhog]

He does have a tendency for getting a penalty at the wrong time though.

and at least 3 were game deciding, in big games no less.. some bad luck as well..