FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas center Frank Ragnow spoke to the media Wednesday evening for the first time since losing his father, Jon, to a heart attack Oct. 1.
Ragnow, who has asked for an evaluation from the NFL Draft advisory board, is contemplating an early departure after his junior season.
He admitted the emotional nature of the season has taken its toll.
"It's been a tough one," Ragnow said. "It really makes you realize how precious everything is and how much this game really means to me, how much it's been such a getaway for me from the tough things I'm going through right now.
"I'm just so thankful to have this team, Coach B, the fans. It's just been unbelievable. It's been quite the season."
Ragnow and junior receiver Jared Cornelius, who also requested a draft grade, have a Jan. 18 deadline to declare for the NFL Draft.
Skipper tabbed
Senior offensive tackle Dan Skipper was named second-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association on Wednesday, giving Arkansas its 56th All-American player.
The 6-10, 319-pounder from Arvada, Colo., has made 46 consecutive starts, including 25 at left tackle and 13 at right tackle. Skipper, a first-team All-SEC choice, was one of three players to earn SEC lineman of the week twice this season.
"It's something I didn't expect," Skipper said. "To have the coaches association vote on that means a lot to me."
Skipper said offensive line coach Kurt Anderson broke the news to him.
"It was a very unexpected, but very cool, thing," he said.
Will Dre play?
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw participated in his second practice Wednesday since returning from breaking a bone in his right foot against Alabama on Oct. 8.
"I did a little more than I did last week, and it felt good," Greenlaw said.
The sophomore from Fayetteville said he hopes to play in the Belk Bowl against Virginia Tech on Dec. 29, but the decision hasn't been made.
"I definitely want to be out there with my teammates," he said. "It kind of really depends on how I feel. I know the coaches, they want to make sure it's 100 percent before I even try to commit to playing. But if I feel good and they feel good about putting me in there, then hopefully I'll be able to get some reps."
Media savvy
Senior Drew Morgan has been selected as the first recipient of the Bequette Award, an honor to be given annually to the Arkansas football player who best handles his media responsibilities.
Morgan, a receiver from Greenwood, was the top vote-getter among a panel of 20 media members who most frequently cover the Razorbacks. Morgan received 13 first-place votes and 44 total points to finish ahead of sophomore tailback Rawleigh Williams (3 first-place votes, 25 points) and junior quarterback Austin Allen (1, 17).
"I was really pumped up," Morgan said about learning through social media he had won. "I thought that would be the first question. I was like, 'Don't talk about Virginia Tech, I just won this award.'
"I love you guys. I wanted to say thank you because I have a lot of really good relationships with people in here.
"Some guys embrace [media interviews], and I'm one of those guys."
Media members voted for the top three places and points were given on a 3, 2, 1 basis. The rest of the vote-getters were Deatrich Wise (1, 12), Dan Skipper (1, 11), Henre Toliver (5 points), Frank Ragnow (1, 3), Keon Hatcher (3 points), and the trio of Jared Collins, Dre Greenlaw and Santos Ramirez received one point each.
The award is named for the Bequettes, an Arkansas legacy family that was known for having an excellent relationship with the media. The family's connection to Arkansas football started with George Bequette, a letterman from 1954-56, who played for Coach Bowden Wyatt's Southwest Conference champion team in 1954 that was nicknamed The 25 Little Pigs.
George Bequette's sons, Jay and Chris, were offensive linemen for the Razorbacks in the 1980s, with Jay lettering from 1980-82 and Chris lettering from 1984-87, including a senior season as team captain.
Jay Bequette's son, Jake, who lettered four seasons (2008-11) at defensive end, was a two-time team captain and earned All-SEC honors as a senior.
Steele honors
Four Razorbacks earned postseason honors from college football analyst Phil Steele on Wednesday, led by junior center Frank Ragnow, who was named first-team All-SEC and fourth-team All-America on Steele's website.
Senior tackle Dan Skipper and sophomore tailback Rawleigh Williams picked up second-team All-SEC honors, while senior tight end Jeremy Sprinkle was third-team All-SEC.
Rookie aid
Defensive coordinator Robb Smith heard for the first time Monday that McTelvin Agim and De'Jon Harris were selected to the SEC All-Freshman team by league coaches.
"Those are all positive signs moving forward in order to get to where we want to go with the roster," Smith said. "I think it's a good sign that there's some young talent that has been identified, and now we have to do a great job of developing them."
Walking tall
The football team will have 16 current or former players eligible for graduation exercises Saturday. The group of current players consists of Austin Allen, Toby Baker, Brooks Ellis, Matt Emrich, Taiwan Johnson, Jeremiah Ledbetter, Brandon Lewis, Adam McFain, Connor McPherson, Damon Mitchell, Drew Morgan, Dominique Reed and Dan Skipper. Former players Alex Brignoni, Ke'Tyrus Marks and Jeremy Ward also have qualified for diplomas.
Shoulder shrug
Virginia Tech offensive guard Augie Conte, asked about the Hokies being inadvertently left off Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema's final regular-season ballot for the USA Today coaches poll, shrugged it off.
"I heard about it, but I honestly don't care what he thinks about us," Conte said. "We're going to do what we're going to do. I mean, if he forgot about us, whether it was a mistake or not, I don't care."
Sports on 12/15/2016