The Detroit Lions have drafted Arkansas center Frank Ragnow with the 20th overall pick of the first round.
Ragnow, 6-4 7/8, 308 pounds, is a native of Victoria (Minn.) and signed with Arkansas over Minnesota and Florida State in 2014. He was named First-Team All-American each of the last two seasons by Pro Football Focus.
Ragnow saw significant playing time as the backup center as a true freshman before starting the next 33 games. He spent his sophomore season at right guard before moving to center for most of his starts the next two years.
In the first half against Auburn in Week 8, Ragnow suffered a broken ankle and played his last collegiate game. He was healthy enough to participate by the time the NFL Combine came around, but since he had not yet train he opted to wait and test at Arkansas’ Pro Day.
He put up 27 reps in the bench press, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.99 seconds, and had a 33.5-inch vertical leap. Prior to Arkansas Pro Day, Ragnow let everyone know his ankle was fine by releasing a video of him dunking a basketball in the HPER Building on the UA campus.
Ragnow was hit with a personal tragedy during his juring his junior season, when he lost his father Marty due to a heart attack in October of 2016. He is the first Razorback to be drafted in the first round since Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in 2008.
The Lions drafted another center from Arkansas in 2014 in Travis Swanson. He was drafted 76th overall in the third round and became a starter for the Lions. Swanson was a starter for the Lions last season but signed with the New York Jets earlier this month.
Former Razorback defensive end Jeremiah Ledbetter was drafted by Detroit last season (6th round, No. 205 overall) and registered 14 tackles and 0.5 sacks as a rookie.
