Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
UA’s Stromberg aiming to improve
FAYETTEVILLE — Ricky Stromberg made news last Friday that had to hearten Arkansas Razorback fans.
The junior center for the University of Arkansas announced he was planning to return for his senior year after receiving input on his potential NFL Draft stock.
Stromberg was very matter of fact about his decision in a video interview that night following the Razorbacks’ first of 15 practices in advance of the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1.
“I didn’t really like my grade at the time,” Stromberg said.
Stromberg didn’t share the grade, but the 6- 4, 310-pounder discussed his areas of focus for the offseason and 2022 when asked how his junior year played out.
“I thought I played good overall,” said Stromberg, a Rimington Award nominee to open the season. “I thought there were some tweaks here and there I could get better at.
“I thought I had an overall good season. I think I do need to get a little bit stronger, though. I think that’ll help for next year. I think that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to stay and get a little bit stronger, and that’s going to definitely help for my senior year.”
Stromberg’s Arkansas teammates applauded the decision Friday.
“Ricky, he’s all about ball. He’s going to come back and he’s going to give it his all one more time, and I feel like that’s a great decision for him,” said senior receiver Tyson Morris, who returned for a super senior season in 2021.
Defensive tackle John Ridgeway noted Stromberg will be able to finish his degree with another season.
“Education is what he came here for,” Ridgeway said. “It also gives him a chance to get better. They have really good coaches here at Arkansas and they can only mold him to make him a better center in the long run.”
Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman’s calling card as an assistant coach with the Razorbacks was for sporting big, powerful offensive lines. In his second year as a head coach at Arkansas, the line is clearly taking strides to return toward his standards.
Stromberg, a product of Tulsa Union and a prime recruit in the 2018-19 signing cycle, is a key cog in the construction going on with Pittman and offensive line coach Cody Kennedy.
In his remarks last Friday, Stromberg touted the ability to improve as a senior under the leadership of Pittman and Kennedy.
“With Coach Pittman and Coach Kennedy, I think it’s a no-brainer to come back and go up from there,” he said.
The Razorbacks were listed as a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the top offensive line in college football. Kennedy moved from tight ends coach to offensive line assistant in June following Brad Davis’ departure and he wound up being a Broyles Award semifinalist.
“I think we had a heck of a year as an O-line,” Stromberg said. “We definitely grew a lot closer. We were close last season, but this year as a group, we grew closer.
“Coach Kennedy coming in, he was awesome. We just bonded right away all with each other. I think we can only keep going up from here.”
Stromberg has started 31 of a potential 34 games as a Razorback, including all 12 this season after suffering a minor knee injury early in camp.
Pro Football Focus, which uses a variety of undisclosed metrics to rank players, has Stromberg graded as the No. 31 center in the FBS with an overall grade of 74.8. Stromberg’s run blocking grade of 77.2 on 439 snaps ranked 27th and was superior to his pass blocking grade of 69.1 on 354 snaps.
Just as the Razorbacks got much-needed help with the return of super seniors Myron Cunningham and Ty Clary this season, Stromberg’s return could signal something big for the 2022 team.
Stromberg would give the Razorbacks potentially four returning starters on the offensive front, with senior right tackle Dalton Wagner already announcing his plan to return for a super senior year. Stromberg would also be eligible for a “covid-19” year in 2023 if he chooses.
Stromberg stressed earlier in the year the goals for the Arkansas offensive line.
“I think this year we need to take a step up in protection,” Stromberg said back in August. “Also, keep progressing in the run game and really take a step up in our protection and help our quarterbacks out.”
The Razorbacks have done exactly that, with the assistance of agile quarterback KJ Jefferson, whose more decisive scrambling and decision making stood out in contrast to Feleipe Franks the year before.
Arkansas allowed 34 sacks in 2020, which equated to 3.4 per game. That figure ranked last in the SEC and 115th among the 127 teams who qualified statistically last season.
The current Razorbacks, following through on Stromberg’s preseason projection, have given up 25 sacks through 12 games, an average of 2.08 per game that ranks 55th in the FBS and eighth in the SEC.
Stromberg’s performance at center has come against some of the best nose guards and defensive tackles in all of college football, such as Georgia’s Jordan Davis, Alabama’s Phidarian Mathis and LSU’s Neil Farrell Jr.
Stromberg was asked Friday night about the best defensive tackles he faced this season.
“I’d have to say, I mean, they were definitely off the charts,” Stromberg said. “Jordan Davis from Georgia. He’s huge. He was really good. He’s strong. And I have to say DeMarvin Leal from [Texas] A&M was pretty good, too. … The guy from Alabama was pretty good, too.”