Zach Frazier is good. But even with his success, he still has the same mindset as the 17-year-old version of Frazier who came to WVU four years ago.
As Zach Frazier enters into what could easily be the final month of his career at West Virginia, the Fairmont native isn’t buying into the hype just yet.
“I think I’ve had a good season. I don’t like talking about myself too much,” Frazier.
Frazier is not a fan of the spotlight and as a center, that’s a fair assessment. Frazier does the dirty work to help spearhead this rushing attack, but the spotlight is starting to find him.
In games against FBS opponents this season, Frazier has not missed a snap, and he has started 33 consecutive games at center for the Mountaineers. With that and his level of success at the position has brought national attention. Frazier was named a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, also known as the ‘Academic Heisman.’ Frazier also could be up for the Rimington Award, among others.
While more awards and honors are likely to come Frazier’s way, he is staying humble through the process and would be excited to win anything.
“If I won either won of those I would be thrilled,” Frazier said. “I try to not think about it. I just try to like not let it get to my head basically. Maybe eventually down the road I’ll look back and hopefully see the stuff I’ve done. I try not to let it get me too excited.”
Frazier’s mindset has changed since he first stepped on campus in Morgantown. His goals were always high he said, but now as he’s continuing to be dominant, his goals he set as a senior in high school are distant memory.
“I try to put my goals really high then if I miss, it’s normally pretty good still,” Frazier said. “When I was in high school my goal was to come up here and start. I had other goals as well.”
Frazier said if he were to go back to being 17 again, he wouldn’t be shocked by the success he’s having but he wouldn’t tell his former self that either.
“I don’t think I’d be surprised, but I probably wouldn’t tell myself that either,” Frazier said.
Frazier’s leadership has carried over to the shuffling on the offensive line. While there has been a steady rotation of six other guys on either side of Frazier, he has still helped WVU run the ball well. West Virginia holds an 11-game streak of rushing for at least 140 yards as a team.
Frazier has been in the middle of that, but deflects the praise to others.
“I think our running backs just ran really hard. I think we were able to block up some plays for them but I think they ran really hard and played really well,” Frazier said about WVU’s dominant rushing performance against UCF.
Frazier added of the continuous shuffling that both Ja’Quay Hubbard and Nick Malone have filled in perfectly when needed and they are just as good as any of the starters.
“Nick and Ja’Quay have done a great job all year. I would say we really have seven guys that can start at any point and like you’ve seen throughout the season, both those guys have came in and haven’t missed a beat. Neither one of them. They’ve done a great job,” Frazier said. “They’re just as good as any of the starters. I feel like the seven of us we can plug and play anywhere and I don’t think there’s a drop off anywhere.”
Being a run-first team is something Frazier enjoys.
“I always love running the ball. I would be fine with running the ball every play,” Frazier said.
With four games to go until the end of the regular season, Frazier still recognizes everything is still in play for this Mountaineer team.
“Four games left, all in November, so we’ve got a month of football left and everything’s still there. If we win out I think we’ll be right where we want to be,” Frazier said.
At the end of the month could come a crucial decision for Frazier. The sport management major is set to graduate this December and is eligible for the NFL Draft. While Frazier wants to consider pursuing an MBA, he knows there will still be a decision to make on whether or not to come back next year or to enter his name into the draft.
“I’m not quite sure yet,” Frazier said of his future plans. “I just take it one game at a time. I’ll probably make a decision after the season.”
