FAYETTEVILLE -- The respect for former Arkansas Razorbacks center Frank Ragnow runs deep in national circles and in the ranks of professional football evaluators.
Ragnow was named second-team All-America by the Football Writers Association and third-team All-America by The Associated Press on Monday, despite playing just more than half of the season.
He was also a second-team All-SEC selection by the AP two weeks ago.
The senior from Victoria, Minn., was a preseason All-America selection, but he was lost for the season after suffering a severely sprained ankle during a loss to Auburn on Oct. 21 that required surgery the next week.
Ragnow did not allow a sack in 42 career games at center and right guard during his career at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, according to the UA sports information staff.
Ohio State's Billy Price was the first-team All-America choice by the Football Writers Association and the AP, while Alabama's Bradley Bozeman was the second-team AP selection.
Ragnow was the top-graded offensive lineman in the country by Pro Football Focus, which named the 6-5, 317-pounder a first-team All-America on Monday.
His overall grade of 93.7 was second only to Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield (96.2), who won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday, on the Pro Football Focus All-America offense.
Ragnow's grade edged out Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson (93.3) for the highest among offensive linemen, followed by first-teamers in UTEP guard Will Hernandez (92.1), Kansas State tackle Dalton Risner (90.3) and Notre Dame tackle Mike McGlinchey (89.4).
Dion Caputi of NFL Draft Update wrote Monday that he has evaluated Ragnow as "a plug and play center at the next level."
Ragnow chose to return for his senior season after considering declaring early for the NFL Draft last winter. He was chosen as an Arkansas offensive captain along with quarterback Austin Allen.
He started the first five games at center, then switched to right guard for the Razorbacks' game at Alabama on Oct. 14 before going back to center against Auburn. Ragnow was injured in the first quarter against Auburn and played the rest of the game on the ailing ankle.
The Senior Bowl announced Monday that Ragnow had accepted his invitation to the game, which will be played Jan. 27, 2018, at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., and declared his participation in the game would be determined later. Arkansas tailback Jonathan Williams attended the Senior Bowl after the 2015 season and went through interviews and limited drills but did not participate in full-speed work when he continued to rehabilitate the broken foot he suffered during training camp in August.
Ragnow said his availability for the Senior Bowl is uncertain.
"It's kind of just hit or miss," he said in late November. "The recovery time is kind of right around that three-month window, so we'll just see how I'm feeling. More than likely I won't be able to play, but we'll see how it is."
Sports on 12/12/2017