Ricky Stromberg hoping for good news in NFL Draft

FAYETTEVILLE — Ricky Stromberg had an outstanding career at Arkansas and now is headed to the NFL.

Stromberg, 6-3, 310, worked in front of scouts from 24 NFL teams on Wednesday at the Arkansas Pro Day. Stromberg also worked out at the NFL Scouting Combine. ESPN’s Mel Kiper rates him the No. 6 center in the 2023 NFL Draft. He talked about how Wednesday went for him.

“It was good,” Stromberg said. “I thought the shuttle, the L-drill, I thought I had good times. The drills were good. I felt choppy on one of them, but besides that, I think I had a good day.”

He ran a 4.47 in the shuttle and 7.41 in the L-drill. At the NFL Combine, he ran a 5.26 in the 40-yard dash and had a 32.5-inch vertical jump. Stromberg said working at Pro Day was better than the combine.

“Definitely comfortable because it’s its own place for me,” Stromberg said. “I feel familiar here. I’ve been here the past four years, so it was good to be back. And also, I like this turf a lot better here than Indianapolis, to be honest with you. It was great, it really was, to see all the coaches again. It was fun.”

He started all 12 games in 2022 and 44 for his career with the Hogs. He opted out of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

“I would say, obviously, my last year, my senior year didn’t go the way we wanted it to go,” Stromberg said. “6-6, I thought we could have been better, but it is what it is. I’m not going to look back in the past and say like ‘Damn’, you know? It is what it is. Four years, I thought it was great. I’ve made friends that I’ll have for the rest of my life. Dalton’s one of them. I have more. This city is amazing. I’m nothing but grateful to be here really. I really enjoyed my time here in Fayetteville.”

Stromberg has been training at APEC in Fort Worth. He feels like his preparation for the draft has gone well.

“Yeah, I think I feel pretty good,” Stromberg said. “I’ve been working hard. I lost weight, took my body fat down, gotten stronger. I feel pretty confident. And now, since Pro Day is over, I’m just waiting for the draft to come up next and see where it goes.”

Stromberg feels that playing in the SEC against many future NFL first-round draft picks on the defensive line has helped prepare him for the next step. Auburn’s Derrick Brown introduced him to the SEC when Stromberg was a true freshman.

“Yeah, 100%. I’d say going against those guys definitely prepared me,” Stromberg said. “Playing against Derrick Brown, I got my butt kicked some plays, but that only helped. You only learn from that. It is what it is. It happened, but I learned from it and got better from it, so I appreciate it.”

The NFL Draft will be April 27-29.