LITTLE ROCK — For the first time in 20 years, Arkansas’ football team is going to be shut out at the ballot box.
Frank Ragnow’s season-ending injury, a 1-7 SEC record and a series of so-so recruiting classes will add up to zero Razorbacks on the first team when All-SEC selections are announced next week by both league coaches and The Associated Press.
An SEC member since 1992, Arkansas was not represented on either all-conference first team in 1994, ’96, and ’97 - all four-win seasons - and was limited to one representative in eight other years.
Guessing Arkansas’ first-team performers always begins with identifying the Razorbacks who could start for Alabama or the SEC’s other elite teams.
This year, the list begins and ends with Ragnow, the only Razorback on the coaches’ preseason first team. But the senior center underwent surgery for an ankle injury vs. Auburn on Oct. 21. Barely playing half the season is not enough for him to be considered for the first team.
Even if Ragnow had played 12 games, he might have been left off the first team because of the offensive line’s lack of production. Maybe his reputation will be worth a spot on the second team, but the third team is more likely.
Routinely, all-conference teams reflect the adage that to the victor go the spoils and 11 SEC teams won more conference games than the Razorbacks, partly because Bret Bielema’s last four recruiting classes ranked near the bottom of the SEC West - sixth out of seven teams three times, and last in 2015.
In addition to putting Ragnow on the first team in the preseason, SEC coaches voted quarterback Austin Allen, defensive back Ryan Pulley and guard Hjalte Froholdt to the third team. Pulley missed the last 11 games with a pectoral injury and Allen sat out four games with a bad shoulder. Froholdt was hobbled with an ankle injury the final few games.
Considering the well-deserved criticism of Arkansas’ offensive line, Froholdt will do well to make the second team.
SEC schools recommend players for the coaches to consider and sophomore linebacker De’Jon Harris is sure to be one of Arkansas’ candidates. Harris was in on 14 tackles in the season finale, giving him a team-leading 115. He could make second team.
Not necessarily a good thing, Arkansas is likely to have a couple of representatives on the All-SEC Freshman team. Cornerback Kamren Curl, linebacker Grant Morgan and wide receivers Jordan Jones and De’Vion Warren are among the possibilities.
While considering Arkansas’ potential All-SEC players, I wondered about talent-rich Alabama and decided six would be the over-under for Crimson Tide players on the first team. Alabama placed nine on the coaches’ preseason first team — four on offense, four on defense, and one on the kicking team — but that group included quarterback Jalen Hurts and defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand.
Hurts completing only 13-of-23 and missing some receivers open deep vs. Auburn, plus the work of Georgia’s Jake Fromm, Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald and Missouri’s Drew Lock, should keep him off the first team. Injured off and on, Hand missed four games.
Also cutting into Alabama’s total will be individuals recognized for the success of Auburn and Georgia.
As for my picks for the big postseason awards:
Coach of the Year: Gus Malzahn of Auburn or Kirby Smart of Georgia. Give me the winner of Saturday's SEC Championship Game.
Offensive Player of the Year: Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, whose injury early vs. Ole Miss was the difference in the Bulldogs not winning nine games.
Defensive Player of the Year: Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is a bonafide playmaker.
By the way, Florida and Arkansas were the SEC’s biggest flops vs. the over-under number for total wins posted months ago by Nevada sports books.
Florida won 4 vs. an over-under of 8, although the Gators did lose a nonconference game to the weather. Arkansas won 4 vs. 7.
The SEC’s top overachievers were Mississippi State and South Carolina, each with 8 wins vs. an over-under of 5.5.
Elsewhere around the SEC West, the number was on the money for Texas A&M (7) and LSU (9). Alabama won 11 vs. 10.5, Auburn won 10 vs. 8.5, and Ole Miss won 6 vs. 5.5.