Detroit Lions' Frank Ragnow blossoms into starter, but misses his dog

Dave Birkett | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Detroit Lions-Oakland Raiders joint practices takeaways Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett gives his takeaways from Lions-Raiders joint practices in Napa, Calif. Recorded Aug. 8, 2018.

NAPA, Calif. – It’s not the Detroit Lions’ playbook running through his head, or line calls or defensive fronts or anything football related that occupies Frank Ragnow’s mind when he lays down to sleep at night.

No, the kid that’s genuinely excited to be living out a boyhood dream by playing in the NFL — and doing a damn-fine job of it so far — has something much more humanizing on the brain:

“I miss my dog,” Ragnow said Wednesday. “There’s not much thinking (at the end of the day). You’re studying the playbook, you’re watching film, you’re trying to get to sleep as fast you can, but just trying to get that phone call to mom, try to FaceTime the dog, call the girlfriend and then kind of get to bed.”

Ragnow got his dog, a chocolate lab named Bear, last fall right before he suffered a season-ending ankle injury at Arkansas.

He said the dog has “been like a therapy dog for me,” and he’s genuinely counting down the days till he and Bear can be reunited once training camp is over.

“I’m in love with the dog,” Ragnow said.

While Ragnow’s mother is currently watching Bear, all eyes in Lions training camp have been on the first-round pick who looks like he could be one of the top finds of the draft.

Ragnow has impressed his coaches and teammates with his consistent play, nasty on-field demeanor and attentiveness off it, and the Lions' offensive line should be much better for it.

He’s settled in as the team’s starting left guard, though he continues to take backup reps at center. And in joint practices against the Oakland Raiders this week, he took his first few lumps of the summer Tuesday, then rebounded with a strong showing Wednesday.

“I think I just had to be more aggressive, more comfortable,” Ragnow said. “I think there’s a little bit of butterflies, a little nerves, a little more of a tentative approach to everything and I just got to learn from the film like I’ve been trying to do and then take it one day at a time.”

More from training camp:

Lions mum on playing time for starters vs. Raiders, anthem rule

Lions-Raiders joint practice observations: Skirmish 'just competition'

Lions coach Matt Patricia declined to say how much his starters will play in Friday’s preseason opener against the Raiders, but Ragnow is expected to see action and bubbling with excitement about the possibility.

“It’s unreal,” he said. “I can’t really put words to it. I mean, this was unreal. Coming out to frickin’ Napa Valley, practicing against the Oakland Raiders, a kid from Victoria, Minn. It’s unreal, and I’m just trying to take it all in.”

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said he has been impressed by how Ragnow has fit in seamlessly on a veteran offensive line that features more than 200 games of starting experience.

“I feel like I don’t hear his name much in meetings, which is a good thing, right?” Stafford said. “There’s not a lot of, ‘Hey Frank, you’re going the wrong way.’ Or, ‘Hey Frank, you’re doing the wrong thing.’ And for a rookie, that’s impressive. He’s a smart guy, he takes a lot of pride in what he does, and he has good guys around him to help him. They communicate really well up there and he receives that communication well, which is important, too.”

Ragnow, for his part, said he still has "a long, long, long, long ways to go" as a player.

The practices against the Raiders helped “substantially" in that regard, facing new pass rushers and a different defensive front than the one he sees every day from the Lions. And his teammates have helped him find that balance of doing everything he needs to on the field, and missing his dog off it.

“It’s just not that much different than college,” Ragnow said. “You enjoy the struggles. I think that’s a good way to put it. You’re going through a grind with everybody and everybody knows they’re going through a grind and you have to just enjoy the struggles and when there is the light, you see the light and you enjoy the light but otherwise just kind of keep your head down and go to work.”

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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