FOOTBALL
Hogs to pay $550,000 for game
Arkansas will pay Portland State a guarantee of $550,000 to open the 2019 football season, the Portland Tribune reported, citing an unnamed source.
Arkansas firmed up the game in October with the Vikings, an FCS team in the Big Sky Conference that has never faced an SEC opponent. The game will be played Aug. 31, 2019, in either Little Rock or Fayetteville based on terms of the contract, which was obtained through an open records request by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
“You gotta love the challenge,” Portland State Coach Bruce Barnum told the Tribune. “When I was coaching at Idaho State, we almost beat Kentucky. I believe we’d have been the first Big Sky team to beat an SEC team.”
Ragnow tops list
Arkansas junior center Frank Ragnow was the top ranked center in the country during the regular season, as rated by Pro Football Focus, which named him to its All-America first team Tuesday.
Ragnow, a native of Victoria, Minn., graded as the top center after two games this season, following victories over No. 11 Florida and Mississippi State. He earned a grade of 80 percent or better by PFF in seven of 12 games.
“If you watched any of Arkansas this year, it won’t come as a surprise to see Ragnow named as our first-team All-American center,” the PFF staff wrote. “Utterly dominant for much of the year after moving from guard to center in 2016, Ragnow looked at his best in space, either at the second level or on pull blocks. He played a huge role in their success running the ball, with Arkansas averaging 6.4 yards per carry on runs between center and left guard this year.”
Coach Bret Bielema said Ragnow is likely to file the paperwork to have his status evaluated by the NFL’s draft advisory board. Junior receiver Jared Cornelius is also contemplating filing the paperwork, Bielema said.
Ledbetter makes all-star game
Arkansas defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter has accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game next month.
The 92nd East-West Shrine Game will be held Jan. 21 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., and will be broadcast on the NFL Network at 2 p.m. Central.
Ledbetter leads the Razorbacks with four sacks and is tied for fourth with 43 tackles.
A native of Orlando, Fla., Ledbetter is one of four Razorbacks listed as accepting invitations to the game, joining offensive tackle Dan Skipper, linebacker Brooks Ellis and defensive end Deatrich Wise.
BASKETBALL
UALR’s Pratt honored by Sun Belt
Kaitlynn Pratt is a one reason why the UALR women’s basketball team has won four consecutive games, and she was honored by the Sun Belt Conference on Tuesday for her efforts.
Pratt was named Sun Belt Player of the Week after leading UALR to victories over Missouri State, Memphis and Oral Roberts. She averaged 18.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in those games.
Harding women lose at Christian Brothers
Christian Brothers’ Courtney Banks made a jumper with six seconds left to give Christian Brothers a 67-66 victory over Harding on Tuesday night in Memphis.
Christian Brothers (3-2), which trailed 56-44 going into the fourth quarter, closed the deficit to 66-65 on a jumper by Samantha Reeves with 45 seconds left before a missed layup by Harding’s Sydney Layrock gave Banks the chance to win the game. Fallan Miller missed a three-pointer for Harding at the buzzer.
Miller led Harding (6-2) with 19 points and made four three-pointers.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
All-Arkansas nominations being accepted
Nominations are being accepted for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps football team.
Nominations should include the player’s class, position, height, weight, 40-yard dash time, along with the following statistics for each position:
QUARTERBACKS Passing yards, attempts, completions, touchdowns, interceptions
RUNNING BACKS Rushing yards, attempts, touchdowns, yards per carry, yards per game
WIDE RECEIVERS Receptions, receiving yards, touchdowns
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS Tackles, sacks, interceptions, pass breakups, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, touchdowns
SPECIAL TEAMS Kickoff returns, return yardage, touchdowns, punt returns, return yardage, touchdowns, field goals made, field goals attempted, extra points made, extra points attempted, longest field goal, longest punt
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN Sacks allowed, blocking grades
There will be a first team, a second team and a top 10 list of sophomores. Offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year, sophomore of the year and coach of the year also will be selected.
Coaches are asked to nominate no more than three players from their own team and no more than three players from their respective conferences.
Nominations will be accepted through Dec. 8. High school coaches with teams still in the postseason may send in nominations and the Democrat-Gazette will update their statistics when the season is over. Email nominations to jmuck@arkansasonline.com.