From Denmark to the NFL: Former Harding lineman Hjalte Froholdt signs deal with Browns
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Hjalte Froholdt never expected football to take him to the places it has.
Starting from a small town in Denmark, the sport brought him to Warren, where he played high school football for a year to now, where he signed a reserves/futures contract with the Cleveland Browns on Jan. 10.
In Denmark, Froholdt originally grew up wanting to play rugby since several people in his family also played. However, rugby isn't as popular in Denmark as it is in other European countries.
So, thinking the rules were the same, or at least similar, he gave football a try when he was 12 years old -- joining his hometown team, the Svendborg Admirals.
"It's not as grand of a scale as it is in the U.S., so my first couple years of playing, we didn't actually have any games because we didn't have enough players on the team," Froholdt said. "So for the first year, all we did was practice. But it was fun and I had a great coach back home in Denmark."
But, Froholdt wanted to get better at football, while having the opportunity to learn from and compete against the best, so he opted to come to the U.S. as an exchange student for his sophomore year of high school -- a practice that he said is common for students in Denmark and across Europe.
"I had a lot of friends (that did exchange programs), one went to Australia and a couple went to Argentina," Froholdt said. "But I always wanted to get the American experience. Growing up, you hear about the big cars, a lot of food -- everything's bigger, sports are bigger -- and then I just wanted to get better at football.
"I never expected it to go as far as it did, playing college or even in the NFL, so I'm just really grateful that it went in the direction that it did," he continued.
The exchange program randomly placed him at Warren G. Harding High School where he had the chance to play for Raiders head coach Steve Arnold.
Since he had only played 7-on-7 football in Denmark, according to Arnold, there was an adjustment period for Froholdt. Playing as an offensive and defensive lineman, as well as on special teams as punter, he had to get used to the football terminology used in the U.S. and acclimate himself to the faster game speed.
"One thing about Hjalte, he had a very high football IQ, which surprised all of us at the time, so he was a starter from day one when he came over from Denmark," Arnold said.
Hitting the weight room with his teammates, Arnold said Froholdt "filled out" physically and by the seventh or eighth game of Harding's 2012 season, he was already receiving recruiting offers from Power 5 schools.
Arnold credited Froholdt's size, raw ability and eagerness, all combined with his work ethic for his meteoric rise.
"Warren is a very tough place to play," Froholdt said. "We had Coach Arnold and he preaches tough football, tough-minded people and tough-minded players. So I think I've tried to carry that as much as I can with going every day and giving it my best and giving it my all."
After his year in Warren, Froholdt returned to Denmark for a year, where he then played for the Søllerød Gold Diggers in Rudersdal. With his Power 5 recruiting offers in tow, he returned to the U.S. for his senior year of high school, where he attended the prestigious IMG Academy in Florida, before eventually signing for and playing four years at Arkansas in the SEC.
"(The year at Harding) was a big year for me to kind of experience football on a much grander scale," Froholdt said. "Then it stepped up in college…but I enjoyed the experience and I'm still enjoying it."
After earning All-SEC honors with the Razorbacks, Froholdt was taken in the fourth round by the Patriots in the 2019 NFL Draft and is only the second native of Denmark to be drafted by an NFL team. (The first was kicker Morten Andersen in 1982.)
But, like for the majority of football players with NFL dreams, Froholdt's time in the league hasn't exactly been smooth sailing. He's dealt with injuries and has bounced around to a few different teams.
"It's definitely tough to bounce around, but you just have to keep your head high," Froholdt said. "Most people in the league are actually in that situation, bouncing from team-to-team trying to find the place where it just clicks between you and the team and front office.
"Not every fit is the perfect fit, but that's what you're trying to search for. You have to keep pushing until you find that one spot, and that's where my motivation is to keep trying to search for that."
He was placed on the injured reserve during his first season with the Patriots due to a shoulder injury sustained during the preseason games, then in November of 2020 he was waived by the team. The Texans claimed him off waivers and he was then placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list shortly thereafter. He was activated in Jan. 2021 and then waived in August 2021 before being re-signed to the team's practice squad.
Finally, the Browns signed Froholdt in October and waived and re-signed him to the practice squad. After a COVID-19 outbreak decimated Cleveland's roster this past season, he was moved to the active roster as a COVID-19 replacement player Dec. 24. He played in six games for the Browns this season -- with all his snaps coming on special teams.
"I hadn't played in a game since Week 10 of the 2020 season, so it was awesome to get back on the field," Froholdt said. "The goal is to get more snaps on offense, but we have such a strong offensive line and a bunch of great players. So it's awesome to see them play and learn from them."
It's not easy being far from his friends and family back in Denmark either. Some of his family came to visit him during the holidays in December, which was the first time he had seen them in person in two years
Visa and border restrictions (due to COVID-19) in both the U.S. and Europe have further complicated matters, as Froholdt hasn't been able to travel back to Denmark himself for almost three years.
"It's definitely tough, but it's more important just to be able to see the family, so I was excited that they were able to come over for Christmas because it had been too long," Froholdt said. "With COVID, I could easily travel back to Denmark, but I wouldn't be able to come back into the U.S. because I'm on a visa."
But next month, if all goes according to plan, Froholdt will get to return home to Denmark to visit.
For now though, Froholdt is hoping he can get a foothold on his career and find a long-term home back in northeast Ohio with the Browns.
"I definitely think there's something there with the Browns where I think I can create something lasting," Froholdt said. "I'm extremely happy that the Browns are willing to bet on me and I'm extremely grateful for that. It means a lot to me to have someone that really believes in you...and I'm very excited for this upcoming season."
nmadhavan@tribtoday.com