After nearly three full seasons of having Ricky Stromberg starting at center, the Arkansas Razorbacks will have a new face snapping the ball in 2023.
Redshirt senior Beaux Limmer will be filling the shoes of Stromberg, who declared for the NFL Draft after putting together a senior campaign that resulted in a him being named First-Team All-SEC by the Associated Press.
A very solid right guard for Arkansas in 2022, Limmer actually started at center in the Razorbacks' Liberty Bowl win over Kansas on Dec. 28. He said he thought his performance was good against the Jayhawks, but things have become a bit more complicated now that he's the full-time center.
"I’d say I thought I played pretty well in the Kansas game, the Liberty Bowl, with center," Limmer said Thursday. "It’s definitely a lot different. Kansas kind of played four-down, but now I’m having to learn odd, mint, even, all these different fronts. It’s definitely a lot more difficult than the Kansas game, but I’m getting more comfortable with it."
Limmer graded out well as a redshirt junior in 2022, as he earned an 82.2 overall offensive grade from Pro Football Focus. That number was second to just Stromberg's 82.4 of any Razorback offensive lineman.
Head coach Sam Pittman said on Dec. 27 that part of the sell to get Limmer back in Fayetteville for another season was for him to play center. Getting the reps leading up to the Liberty Bowl and then actually playing in the game was much-needed experience for the 6-foot-5, 305 pound lineman.
"They’re going to keep eight in the NFL, a guy who plays guard and can’t play center is not going to have near the value," Pittman said on Dec. 27. "So we sold that to Beaux to come back. For this to happen, Ricky decided not to play (in the bowl). For him to go in there and get this extra 10 practices at center I think is going to be very valuable to him. He’s kind of a natural in there. He’s a really good player. I believe that’s his NFL position."
Limmer told reporters back in December that he played two games in high school at center and then he was the backup center his freshman and redshirt junior years in Fayetteville.
Now that he's spent all spring as the only offensive lineman to stay put in his spot with the first team, Limmer is catching on.
"I wouldn’t say I’m 100% comfortable there yet," Limmer said. "But this spring has been great just getting an idea of what to do and everything and all of the calls with this new offense going in."
The Tyler, Texas, native said he feels like center or guard could be positions for him at the next level, but he's still getting comfortable at the former.
"I mean it’s hard to say," Limmer said. "I definitely feel like I could play both positions pretty well right now. But like I said, I need to develop a little more at center. I’m not as comfortable at center right now as I was at guard last year, but I’ll definitely get there. Either position, yeah, wherever is fine with me."
One disadvantage that could turn into an advantage for Limmer is that he's had to adjust to a new offensive coordinator in Dan Enos. Having a familiar face behind center in KJ Jefferson helps, but installing a somewhat new offense is taking some time.
"As far as offense with Enos and scheme, it's a little bit different spots wise, but all the same schemes," Limmer said. "Inside zone, outside zone, counters, powers and those sorts of things. It's just the ends and outs are a little bit different as far as spot's wise and checking out of this and checking out of that is a little more in-depth. I would say things are definitely a little bit better here."
Arkansas has one more practice Friday ahead of Saturday's Red-White spring scrimmage at Donald W. Reynold Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. Limmer said he wants to show the Razorback fans that show up that the offensive line is filling the gaps after losing Stromberg, starting right tackle Dalton Wagner and starting left tackle Luke Jones.
"I'd say the biggest deal here is to basically show everybody that we're filling the gaps that aren't coming back from last year," Limmer said. "We've got Luke, Ricky and Wags, all three of them not coming back, young guys filling those spots. The biggest thing is to prove to the fans that we're not going to skip a beat, and we'll be just as good, if not better, than we were last year."
The Red-White scrimmage will start at noon CT at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The scrimmage will be streamed live on the SEC Network+ and ESPN+.
