Clay Henry: Frank & Dre
Thank you Merv Johnson for teaching me the best way to watch a football game 45 years ago. The Oklahoma offensive line coach did me a solid when he instructed a young college reporter to watch the center and not the football.
“If you focus on the center, you will see the guards, too,” Johnson said as he turned on a projector and played film. “The guards are going to take you to the ball. You will see the nose guard and the linebackers, too.”
The point was simple, ball watchers miss the real game, what happens in the trenches.
So that’s what I did – as always – on Sunday for about 7 hours of glorious NFL football. I watched former Razorback stars Frank Ragnow, a center, and Dre Greenlaw, an inside linebacker, make play after play in amazing fashion to lead their teams to the NFC title game.
It hit me about bedtime that the result of the day was grand; one of them would land in the Super Bowl.
As the publisher at Hawgs Illustrated, I got to know both Frank and Dre in a special way. I can confirm that not only are they true stars on the football field, but just as wonderful off the field.
I’ve got stories of both as we sat up photo shoots for them to be the cover for Hawgs Illustrated summer football previews.
I was telling my wife about the cover shoot with Dre as he made two pass interceptions to help the San Francisco 49ers hold off the Green Bay Packers in their divisional victory. Greenlaw became the first player in three decades of the magazine to show up for a photo shoot ready to play a game.
The idea was for Dre to come to the UA weight room in full gear. He did that, but also with eye black, cleats and his wrists and ankles taped. I forgave him for being a few minutes late because he had to hunt for a trainer for the tape job.
“I wanted to give you the total package,” Dre said, flashing a million-dollar smile.
Both are the total package. I love them both so much that I’ll decline to pull for either team.
They are alike in so many ways. They play the game like warriors. They are fierce competitors. Former Arkansas coach Ken Hatfield used to talk about playing football like a “Fighting Razorback.” None do that any better than Ragnow and Greenlaw.
