The Recruiting Guy

Q&A with senior offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt

Arkansas offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt, of Denmark, is interviewed during the NCAA college football Southeastern Conference media days at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 17, 2018. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Arkansas offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt, of Denmark, is interviewed during the NCAA college football Southeastern Conference media days at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 17, 2018. (AP Photo/John Amis)

— Arkansas offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt is expected to contend for All-SEC honors this season while being one of the leaders on the team.

Position: Offensive line

High school: IMG Academy

Class: Senior

Rundown:

First Team All-SEC by Pro Football Focus. … Started 12 games at left guard and played 747 snaps as a junior. … Did not allow a sack in 389 snaps in pass protection. … Allowed two quarterback hits and nine hurries. … Flagged just twice on the season. … No. 9 overall graded offensive lineman in the SEC and the No. 2 graded guard, according to Pro Football Focus (85.6). … Graded out at 80 percent or better in six games, including four times in SEC play.

Coach Chad Morris is:

“Energetic. I think that’s what he’s been described as before and I think that’s how he’ll be described until he stops coaching. He’s the same guy day in and day out. He brings the same thing to the table, which is energy.”

Strength and conditioning Coach Trumain Carroll:

“He really cares for us. Head strength coaches are always a little different kind of person. You had coach (Ben Herbert) here before and he’s a crazy dude, and Coach Tru, I think, is also just as crazy. You can feel in these guys that they really care for us. He wants the best out of us and he’s pushed us throughout spring and all throughout summer and really put a lot of volume on us, but he listens to us as well.

"He talks to some of us bigger guys that lifts a lot of weight and moves really well, ‘How you feel today?' We’re going to give him correct feedback and he might change it up a little bit. He’s not just like a concrete…very specific, like, ‘I put this weight on the machine and that’s the way you’re going to do it.’ He’s very mobile on how…he makes sure we don’t burn out now. There’s no reason for us to either peak or burn out at this point. We’re supposed to peak once the season starts.”

My mom still gets on to me for:

“Not calling home enough. I’m trying the best I can to call home more, but I need to talk to them more.”

How have you grown as a person while at Arkansas?

“I think I’ve just become more relaxed with my situation. I was very uptight my freshman year, thinking I didn't do well enough and all this and then sophomore year, I'm still very frustrated with how I played. Last year, it started to turn around, but I got in my own head a lot, and right now I’m just more relaxed with the game. Failure is going to come and the only thing you can do is try and learn from it. I’ve become more relaxed with the game.”

What surprised you about college football?

“Maybe the hype, I guess. There’s so much hype around it. I got the opportunity to go to SEC Media Days and it’s absolutely phenomenal. You knew it was going to be bigger, faster, stronger. That’s a given, but the hype and the support that I can just feel from our fan base is insane. I think it’s going to be a lot different at the next level. I don’t know how it is but I think it’s much more intensified especially in the SEC.”

Which teammate or teammates inspires you and why?

“We’ve had a couple of guys that have really been battling some injuries and we see these guys come back time and time again. Jared (Cornelius), he’s in his fifth year now and he was supposed to come out and probably be a three-and-done. He had the talent but some injuries have been plaguing him and the only thing you see from him is just come back, and the same thing with Kevin (Richardson) right now. He’s dealing with some foot injuries, but I haven’t seen him not being positive. It’s really empowering to see these guys, especially those two. Every day they’re still smiling and still coming in here and still giving everything they got, and that’s really inspiring.”

Upcoming Events