Arkansas defensive line commitment Hjalte Froholdt was able to mix and mingle with other Razorback pledges during his visit for the Nicholls State game Sept. 6.
“It was good to talk to them,” Froholdt said. “I saw Ty Storey again. I met him a couple times. We chatted a couple times on Twitter. He’s a good guy and I met (Daytrieon) Dean, CJ O’Grady. It was good to be with them and also talk to the D-linemen at Arkansas. They have a great vibe there, it's a great place. I just can't wait to join them.”
Froholdt, 6-5, 290 pounds, of Bradenton, (Fla.) IMG Academy made his first trip back to Fayetteville since visiting for the South Carolina game last October.
His older brother, Lars, 6-1, 320, who started playing club football in November, accompanied him on the trip. Lars traveled from Denmark to Dallas Sept. 4 to attend IMG Academy’s contest with Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian the next night.
One of the purposes for the trip was to meet new defensive coordinator Robb Smith and defensive line coach Rory Segrest. Both joined the Razorbacks' staff after Froholdt's commitment in December.
“I talked to them a couple times on the phone and I think that kind of like broke the ice between us,” Froholdt said. “It was easy to say hello and give them a hug to say hello, not even a handshake, we didn’t even need that. We talked some football. I met their wives, just like coming just together.”
Froholdt played his sophomore season in 2012 as an exchange student at Warren (Ohio) Harding High School before going back home to Denmark, where he played club football for the Gold Diggers of Sollerod. He arrived at IMG Academy in June.
He plans to graduate in December and enroll at Arkansas in January. He’s seen how strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert has transformed the Razorbacks
“I can't wait to get in there and let coach Herbert work on me, lose some weight and trim up and meet all the guys.,” Froholdt said. “A lot of other guys in my recruiting class is coming in early, so it's going to be an easy transition I won’t be all alone and I start my education too.”
Frohodlt is a big fan of Herbert’s work.
“Just to see what he's done with the other guys, they look amazing right now,” said Froholdt of the freshmen class. “They've only been here a couple months. I going to be there for about eight months with coach Herbert and be in the program and learn the schemes and everything.”
Froholdt sat in the defensive line meeting room with Coach Segrest.
“He’s a very good coach and he’s very detailed,” Froholdt said. “He’s a very good teacher. I could really picture myself in that meeting room.”
Segrest’s five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles is a plus.
“That does not hurt at all, it's an NFL scheme they have going here and it's going to work great,” Froholdt said.
The brothers represented Denmark in the 2014 Football European Championships in Austria on May 30 to June 7. The trip allowed Hjalte and Lars to reunite after a few months of being apart.
“It's awesome being back with him,” Hjalte said. “We had a great year. Last year was a tough year with a lot of traveling. It was very hard living in Sweden going to practice in Denmark.”
While in Texas, Lars visited Abilene Christian and visited Arkansas Tech with Hjalte the Monday after the Nicholls State game. Hjalte hopes to see his brother attending a school in the United States in the spring.
“I feel like everybody loves football, but they just don't know it yet,” Hjlate said. “So he found his love. So if he's going to be over here, it's going be easier for the two of us to connect and contact each other. It's also going to feel like a little closer to home since everybody's over there and I'm over here.”
The trip to Fayetteville was Lars’ first. He was impressed with Coach Bret Bielema.
“Even though you're not the center person, he comes in and hugs you and tells you sit down man, take a seat, let’s talk about this, what's up,” Lars said. “That was just awesome and that's with all the coaches. Just a great experience. It’s such a nice place, there's everything you need”.
Lars was able to visit Florida State, Michigan and Alabama with his brother and parents last year. It was during the trip to Tallahassee that the idea of playing football popped into his mind.
“We were sitting eating at a restaurant and we're talking that this could be a good sport for me,” said Lars, a defensive lineman and fullback. “We decided to change my whole life.”
He played semipro handball until his decision to switch sports.
“I played in the second biggest league in Denmark, that’s pretty big in Europe actually,” Lars said. “I traveled like three hours just to get to practice.”
With the help with his brother, Lars has made strong strides towards his goal to play college football.
“We set a few goals for us and they're really high but we thought we needed something to strive for,” Lars said. “So far we've reached every single goal. I really didn't think that was possible. I think we made it possible together.”