'Ox' pulling his weight

FAYETTEVILLE — There is an Ox running in the middle of the Hogs.

Seth Oxner, a red-shirt sophomore from Monticello, has been working as Arkansas' starting center throughout preseason practice.

A high school teammate nicknamed him "Ox," and it's stuck with Oxner since he came to Arkansas.

"I don't know of a better nickname you could have as a lineman," Oxner said. "I like the sound of it."

Oxner, listed at 6-4 and 315 pounds, likes his nickname so much that he got a tattoo of an ox on his right shoulder last December. It's a picture of a snorting bull with the name "Oxner" underneath it.

His father is coming around to the idea of the tattoo, Oxner said. His mother didn't object.

"My mom paid for it," Oxner said.

As Oxner is quick to point out, it's NOT a longhorn tattoo.

An ox could be a bull or a cow. Even a buffalo.

"You've got to understand, they're all oxen if they're bred to work," Oxner said. "If a bull - or a longhorn - is bred to work, then it's an ox.

It's that simple."

Hard work has helped put Oxner in position to make his first college start when the Razorbacks open the season against Missouri State on Sept. 5 in Little Rock.

Oxner is still competing with junior Wade Grayson for the starting center job, offensive line coach Mike Summers said, but Oxner has been working with the first-team offense since preseason practice started Aug. 6 and shows no signs of losing the spot.

Perhaps Oxner should take it as a good sign that 2009 is the Year of the Ox on the Chinese calendar.

"Seth is doing a good job," Summers said. "He has to continue to progress for us to be good, and I expect him to do that."

Arkansas' post-spring practice depth chart released in May listed Grayson as the starting center with Oxner as a backup guard. But over the summer the coaches made a change and listed Oxner and Grayson 1-2 at center. Grayson also has gotten some work in practice at guard, where he started last season.

"Seth had as good an off-season as anybody on our team," Summers said of the depth chart change. "He showed that he wants to be that guy."

But Oxner said he knows he's not the guy at center yet.

"Me and Wade just need to keep competing," Oxner said. "You don't know what will happen.

"I'm going to work hard, he's going to work hard, and at the end of the day the best player will play."

Arkansas will have a new starting center this season - whether it's Oxner or Grayson - because All-American Jonathan Luigs is now in the NFL as a rookie withthe Cincinnati Bengals.

"Luigs was a great player," Oxner said. "Those are big shoes to fill."

No one is saying the Razorbacks won't miss Luigs, but quarterback Ryan Mallett said he's confident taking snaps fromOxner.

"They put Ox in there with the first team, and he's stepped up," Mallett said. "He's making plays and making the calls, and that's what he's got to do at that position in this offense."

Mitch Petrus, a fifth-year senior guard, said Oxner has made steady progress in practice.

"We've all got stuff we need to work on, but he's doing a good job," Petrus said. "He's improved a lot."

Petrus said Oxner needs to continue to work on being a vocal center because of his responsibilities in calling out checks at the line.

"He's kind of a subtle dude, kind of quiet, so I'm trying to help him break out of his shell," Petrus said. "I'll tell him, 'Hey, Ox, be loud out there. Don't be afraid to yell.' "

Oxner said he's quiet in the locker room but is working to make sure he's heard on the field.

"Mitch is right, I do have to be more vocal," he said. "I think I'm getting there."

There never was any doubt Oxner would get to Arkansas after he was offered a scholarship. Other schools to show recruiting interest included Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State.

"I committed early, and Arkansas was the only visit I took,"Oxner said. "It was Arkansas all the way. I've always been a Hog fan."

Now he is a Hog, and an Ox, too.