Froholdt confident this time: Change to offense kept Dane unsure

Arkansas offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt (51) battles offensive lineman Cooper Sone during practice Saturday, April 2, 2016, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt (51) battles offensive lineman Cooper Sone during practice Saturday, April 2, 2016, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Hjalte Froholdt spent most of the 2016 season trying to catch up.

Froholdt was trying to get up to speed in a new position as the starting left guard for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and it was a challenge.

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Hjalte Froholdt glance

POSITION Left guard

CLASS Junior

HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-4, 313

AGE 20 (Birthdate Aug. 20, 1996)

HOMETOWN Svendborg, Denmark

LAST STOP IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.

NOTEWORTHY Entering second season as starting left guard after making all 13 starts in 2016. … Selected to Phil Steele preseason All-SEC third team. … Notched three tackles as a true freshman defensive tackle in 2015. … An early enrollee who went through spring practice in 2015. … Rated as five-star prospect by PrepStar, four-star recruit by Rivals, Scout, 247Sports and ESPN. … Ranked as No. 98 player in the nation in ESPN 300. … Began his football career as a foreign exchange student in Ohio as a sophomore. … Played for former Florida State quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke at IMG Academy.

For the native of Denmark, who had played defensive tackle as a true freshman in 2015, the season was a whirlwind.

"Last year everything was new to me," said Froholdt, who started all 13 games between senior left tackle Dan Skipper and junior center Frank Ragnow. "I was like a newborn baby."

Froholdt had his share of missed blocks as he learned about leverage, hand placement and balance in the SEC.

Now, after a full season as an offensive lineman, Froholdt is playing -- and looking -- like a new man.

"He's playing with a lot of confidence," offensive line coach Kurt Anderson said. "You can see, just in everyday meetings and on the field, his personality come through, and he's got a great personality.

"I think at times last year, his personality really didn't shine through because he was frustrated with his technique and sometimes where and what he was supposed to be doing.

"So he is extremely confident right now and he's playing at a very high level. A winning SEC level and that's always good to have when you've got Frank at center and you know what you're going to get out of our guards. That's really, really good."

Offensive coordinator Dan Enos said Froholdt has had a strong spring.

"He's looks like a totally different player than a year ago, as you would expect making the move over last spring to offense," Enos said.

Enos added that Froholt has played with limited mistakes, especially in the run game.

"When you know what you're doing, when you're more confident in what you're doing I should say, you play faster," Enos said. "He's confident in what he's doing right now, so he's playing faster and able to play more physical that way."

Froholdt said he got too beefy after making the transition from defense, so he turned to strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert and Ragnow to tone up during the winter.

"I felt like I was a little bit heavy and couldn't move as well," Froholdt said. "And so I started working out with Frank and coach Herb on the weekends and got in on a diet plan and it's been working well."

Froholdt said he dropped 10 to 15 pounds and is carrying his current weight of 313 much better.

"I'm a lot more nimble," he said. "I'll be able to run more, faster, for a longer period of time."

Froholdt said the uncertainty and hesitation he played with for parts of last season are being replaced by determined movements.

"This year, it's great being able to know what I'm doing out there, feeling a lot more comfortable going up to the line and knowing what to do on every single play. The game has slowed down."

Froholdt said the most frequent talking points from Anderson now do not revolve around the schemes.

"It's more small hints and pointers and specific footwork and things like that," he said.

Coach Bret Bielema has pointed out what he expects to be vast improvement in offensive line play under Anderson, a second-year assistant.

A big reason is Ragnow's decision to return for his senior season. In addition, five other players -- Froholdt, Johnny Gibson, Colton Jackson, Jake Raulerson and Brian Wallace -- have starting experience. Arkansas coaches also believe the push for game reps from players such as Paul Ramirez, Deion Malone, Zach Rogers, Jalen Merrick and freshmen like Dalton Wagner and Shane Clenin will improve the play of the starting unit.

"We had a lot of new guys on the line, me included," Froholdt said when asked about the issues in 2016. "Thank God we had a couple leaders on the line with Skip and Frank. That was phenomenal.

"I think it's just we have a lot more experience now. ... It's a lot more comfortable being out there, everyone knowing what to do and being able to react to a specific situation, such as goal line, when the game's on the line and everything."

Goal line situations, where Arkansas struggled last year, have been a huge emphasis in the spring for the offense.

"We're working it hard right now," Froholdt said. "Even if we're just doing inside run, we're straining and doing that every day.

"That's definitely been a coaching point. We can't be behind the ball. We can't false step. We can't do anything like that."

Sports on 04/28/2017

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