Most Important Hogs in 2021: No. 9 - C Ricky Stromberg

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HawgBeat is counting down the 10 most important Arkansas players for the upcoming 2021 season. Links to previous players in the list will be included below.

With the possibility of a direct snap to a running back, only one player is guaranteed to touch the ball every play of every game. That is why the center will always be considered one of the most important players, but it’s even more true for Arkansas, as Ricky Stromberg is widely considered one of the team’s top offensive linemen.

After playing his freshman season as possibly the lightest offensive lineman in the SEC and still managing to post a solid 65.0 Pro Football Focus grade as a guard, he made the move inside under new head Coach Sam Pittman last year and did a nice job.

Although he struggled early on, earning 51.4 and 52.1 grades from PFF the first two weeks of the season, Stromberg steadily got better and he seemingly fixed the snap issues that plagued Arkansas in the past.

A concussion prevented him from playing in the season finale against Alabama, but Stromberg played his best game fo the year the week before against Missouri. He posted a 78.5 grade while playing all 87 offensive snaps against the Tigers.

Now listed at 316 pounds, Stromberg will be the anchor of an offensive line that many hope will make huge strides in Year 2 under Pittman. If that’s going to happen, it’ll likely require Stromberg continuing to improve in the middle.

What also makes him so important is that his backup this season will probably be Shane Clenin because Ty Clary has shifted to focusing solely on playing guard. While he is a smart player who has proven to be capable of playing multiple positions, he’s played just 169 total offensive snaps since arriving as part of the 2017 signing class and there’s probably a reason for that.

Stromberg’s health - and continued development - will be vital to the success of the offensive line in 2021.

10. Montaric Brown - CB
9. Ricky Stromberg - C
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