FROM THE VAULT: Frank Ragnow

The Hog Pod with Bo Mattingly

Sport & Story

Arkansas, Hogs, Sports, Razorbacks

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Released orginally in 2020.

From a talent standpoint, it’s no surprise Frank Ragnow has found success at the highest level. He was a 4-star prospect with offers from some of the best programs in the nation, an All-American and All-SEC performer at Arkansas, and was a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Ragnow is a guy who loves life and is the same person every day. But that doesn’t mean his journey to becoming a starting center in the NFL has been easy. During his sophomore year at Arkansas, his mom was diagnosed with cancer. And while she has recovered, the news rocked Ragnow. As a senior, he suffered a season- and college career-ending ankle injury that required surgery. But it was during his junior year when his world shattered: His dad suddenly passed away after a heart attack. And dealing with the grief has understandably been a struggle. Through it all, Ragnow is driven by the desire to compete against the best. Just don’t expect him to change who he is.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, Hog fans, it's Bo Mattingly.
0:01.8	Thanks again for listening and your continued support of the hog pot.
0:05.7	It means we get to keep telling these amazing stories about your favorite razorback
0:09.8	athletes, coaches, and moments.
0:12.5	And as we prepare for an upcoming new athletic season, we decided to dive back into the
0:18.2	vault for some of our favorite episodes.
0:20.5	This week features Frank
0:22.4	Ragnow, who in early June announced his retirement from the NFL after four Pro Bowls
0:28.3	and seven successful seasons as the Detroit Lions Star Center. I called him, told him I needed to talk
0:34.5	to him about something on film and got him to laugh a little bit. He showed up at the complex on a scooter and I think once you saw me, he knew something was up.
0:42.3	I just, I said, hey, I love you and here's the phone. Here's your mom.
0:47.3	He handed me the phone and it was my mom just bawling her eyes out. And I just completely lost it.
0:55.3	And, you know, it took a while.
0:57.8	And I remember just sitting in that hallway.
1:01.0	And Coach Bueller walked down and we just sat there.
1:03.9	We came down.
1:05.2	He came out.
1:05.8	We're sitting right there on the floor in the hall just bawling our eyes out.
1:21.6	Yeah. on the floor in the hall and just bawling our eyes out. Welcome into the hog pot. I'm Bo Mattingly and this episode is made possible by our friends at South by Northwest Hospitality.
1:33.5	From a talent standpoint, it's no surprise Frank Ragnow has found success at the highest level.
1:35.0	Man, that guy is an animal. He was a four-star prospect with offers from some of the best programs in the country,
1:39.6	an All-American and All-SEC performer at Arkansas, and a a first round pick in the 2018 NFL
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sport & Story, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Sport & Story and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.