Heinrich retires from Hogs

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive lineman Jake Heinrich announced Monday via his Twitter account that he is retiring from football due to medical issues but is planning to stay in school and graduate in the spring. The redshirt freshman from Urbandale, Iowa, wrote that his time in Fayetteville as a football player went “about exactly the opposite” as he imagined. “Unfortunately, after rupturing multiple intervertebral discs in the last few months alone and having my spine deteriorated to the point of a senior citizen, according to various doctors, it simply makes sense to accept this new reality for the sake of my long-term health and quality of life,” Heinrich wrote. He added that after graduating at the end of this semester he planned to remain on a medical hardship scholarship for two more years to complete graduate school. Heinrich, a four-star recruit, redshirted in 2016 and did not play in 2017. He’s the fourth known Arkansas football player to depart the football team since the Razorbacks concluded a 4-8 season with a 48-45 loss to Missouri that led to Bret Bielema’s firing. Center Zach Rogers, kicker Cole Hedlund and linebacker Josh Harris have also left or announced plans to leave the team. Harris, a walk-on from White Hall who contributed mostly on special teams in 2015 and 2016 and missed all of 2017 with a foot injury, wrote on his Instagram account that he planned to transfer after graduating in May.