Zach Frazier

Last updated

Zach Frazier
Zachfrazier Pickens punt.jpg
Frazier with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024
No. 54 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position: Center
Personal information
Born: (2001-08-29) August 29, 2001 (age 23)
Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school: Fairmont Senior (Fairmont)
College: West Virginia (2020–2023)
NFL draft: 2024  / round: 2 / pick: 51
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2024
Games played:15
Games started:15
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Zach Frazier (born August 29, 2001) is an American professional football center for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Contents

Early life

Frazier was born in Fairmont, West Virginia. [1] He is related to several state champion wrestlers through his mother's side of the family while his father played football for the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons. [2] In addition to playing sports, Frazier excelled academically: he declared on his first day of kindergarten that he would win an award for having perfect grades throughout elementary school, accomplished that goal, and had a 4.5 grade-point average (GPA) with one semester left in high school. [2]

Frazier attended Fairmont Senior High School where he played football and was a wrestler; in football, he played two-ways and was thrice selected first-team All-Class AA while in wrestling, he won four consecutive heavyweight state championships. [3] He was named the 2019–20 Times West Virginian wrestler of the year after being the first in school history to win four wrestling championships and finished his high school career with a 159–2 record, the highest winning percentage in Marion County history. [4] He helped his school's football team reach the class championship three times in four years, winning it once it 2018. [5] He had 54 starts in his football career which set a team record, and was named as a senior the Stydahar Award winner as the best lineman in the state. [6] He committed to play college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, being ranked the second-best recruit in the state. [2] [7]

College career

After an injury to Chase Behrndt, Frazier became West Virginia's starter at center in the first game of his true freshman season in 2020, being the first person to do so at the school in over 40 years. [8] He then shifted to guard when Behrndt returned and ultimately started all 10 games in the 2020 season. [8] He did not allow a sack in nine games and was named first-team Freshman All-American as well as honorable mention All-Big 12. [9] [10] Off the field, he was named to the Big 12 Academic All-Rookie team. [10]

Frazier became West Virginia's starting center in 2021 and started every game at the position, appearing on every offensive snap in the season. [11] He was the team leader with 60 knockdown blocks and allowed just two sacks while being graded at 90% or higher in all but two games. [11] He was second-team All-Big 12, second-team All-American and first-team Academic All-Big 12. [10] [12] [13] He was also their nominee for Big 12 Athlete of the Year. [14] In 2022, Frazier started all 12 games, allowed only one sack, and was chosen first-team all-conference as he helped the team average 171.5 rushing yards per game while being their leader with 51 knockdown blocks. [15] [16] He also repeated as a first-team Academic All-Big 12 honoree. [14]

Frazier entered the 2023 season as a preseason first-team All-American and member of the Lombardi Award watch list. [17] Midseason, he was selected as one of 16 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy. [18] [19]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+5⁄8 in
(1.90 m)		313 lb
(142 kg)		32+1⁄4 in
(0.82 m)		10+7⁄8 in
(0.28 m)		5.26 s1.81 s3.00 s4.69 s7.85 s28.5 in
(0.72 m)		8 ft 4 in
(2.54 m)		30 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day [20] [21]

Statistics

Legend
BoldCareer high
YearTeamGamesOffense
GPGSSnapsHoldingFalse StartIllegal Shift
2024 PIT 1111737100
Career 1111737100

2024 season

Frazier during Steelers training camp 2024 ZachFrazier.jpg
Frazier during Steelers training camp 2024

Frazier was selected in the second round with the 51st overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. [22] Frazier signed his four-year rookie contract with the Steelers on June 10. [23]

Originally, Frazier was named the backup to Nate Herbig at the center position. However, Herbig would be injured during the preseason and be placed on the injured reserve list, ending his season prematurely and thrusting Frazier into the Week 1 starting position. [24] He made his professional debut in Week 1's Steelers win over the Atlanta Falcons. [25] He would subsequently start the first six games of the season. As a rookie center, Frazier called multiple plays through his first six starts. During Week 6's 32-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Frazier was relieved by Ryan McCollum when a Raiders defender fell on Frazier's ankle during a block. Frazier did not suffer any major injury, but was ruled out ahead of Week 7's 37-15 victory over the New York Jets and was considered "week-to-week" on the Steelers' injury report until after their Week 9 bye. [26] He would return to the field on November 10 during a narrow 28-27 Steelers win over the Washington Commanders. [27]

On New Year's Eve, Frazier was voted the team's offensive rookie of the year, making him just the second center in franchise history to do so with Maurkice Pouncey being the first in 2010. [28] [29] Frazier finished the regular season appearing in 15 games, playing 975 offensive snaps, only allowed one sack and committed just five penalties as the team ended the season with a record of 10-7 to give Frazier his first playoff berth. [30] He appeared in the team's 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild Card playoff round.

Frazier was selected to the Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) NFL All-Rookie Team on January 21, 2025. This made Frazier the second consecutive Steeler to appear on the list after Joey Porter Jr. the season prior. [31] In addition to this, Frazier was the recipient of the Joe Greene Great Performance Award. [32]

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References

  1. ↑ "Zach Frazier". ESPN . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Taylor, G. Allan (December 23, 2019). "Homemade: Inside the garage gym West Virginia signee Zach Frazier created to go after his goals" . The Athletic . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  3. ↑ Hunter, Greg (August 25, 2023). "Zach Frazier grows into his leadership role". West Virginia's News. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  4. ↑ Smith, Joe (April 11, 2020). "One Last Time" . Times West Virginian . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  5. ↑ Brocato, Joe (November 11, 2020). "True freshman and former Polar Bear Zach Frazier a perfect fit on WVU's offensive front". West Virginia MetroNews . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  6. ↑ Heltzel, Bradley (December 23, 2019). "Prep football: Fairmont Senior's Zach Frazier wins Stydahar Award". Charleston Gazette-Mail . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  7. ↑ Decker, Ryan (July 17, 2023). "A look at the to-do list for All-American center Zach Frazier". WBOY-TV . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Pritt, Ryan (April 20, 2021). "WVU football: Zach Frazier hopes to make most of opportunity at center". The Herald-Dispatch . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  9. ↑ Kinder, Kevin (August 23, 2021). "Zach Frazier learned much during his first season at WVU". The Exponent Telegram . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 "Zach Frazier". West Virginia Mountaineers . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Zach Frazier named second-team All-American". West Virginia's News. December 9, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  12. ↑ Hunter, Greg (July 5, 2023). "Zach Frazier earns Big 12 preseason honors". West Virginia's News. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  13. ↑ Montoro, Mike (December 9, 2021). "WVU's Zach Frazier named Walter Camp All-American". WBOY-TV . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Zach Frazier (2023)". National Football Foundation . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  15. ↑ Hall, Christopher (July 5, 2023). "Zach Frazier Selected Preseason All-Big 12". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Zach Frazier named preseason All-America First Team". West Virginia's News. May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  17. ↑ Hertzel, Bob (August 16, 2023). "Fairmont's Zach Frazier earns two pre-season accolades" . Times West Virginian . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  18. ↑ Hall, Christopher (October 25, 2023). "Frazier Named William V. Campbell Trophy Finalist". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  19. ↑ Callihan, Schuyler (July 13, 2023). "NFL OL Coaches Will Be 'Pounding the Table for Zach Frazier' in the 2024 Draft". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Zach Frazier Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  21. ↑ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Zach Frazier College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  22. ↑ Magdziuk, Kate (April 26, 2024). "Pittsburgh Steelers select WVU Center Zach Frazier with 51st overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft". Behind the Steel Curtain. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Steelers sign Frazier". Steelers.com. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Steelers place Nate Herbig on IR, clearing way for rookie Zach Frazier from WVU to start". August 20, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Zach Frazier Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com .
  26. ↑ "Zach Frazier injury update: Report reveals latest on Steelers center, timeline for return". October 14, 2024.
  27. ↑ Adamski, Chris (November 8, 2024). "Steelers' Nick Herbig out vs. Commanders, but Zach Frazier and Cordarrelle Patterson to return". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  28. ↑ Fittipaldo, Ray (December 31, 2024). "and praise from his teammates for his nasty disposition". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  29. ↑ Varley, Teresa (December 31, 2024). "Frazier, Highsmith win team awards". Steelers.com. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Pittsburgh Steelers C". PFF. April 14, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  31. ↑ Rutter, Joe (January 21, 2025). "Steelers center Zach Frazier named to PFWA all-rookie team". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  32. ↑ Varley, Teresa (January 21, 2025). "Frazier named to PFWA All-Rookie Team". Steelers.com. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
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