Zach Frazier's standard carrying over to younger Mountaineer O-linemen
Zach Frazier was somewhat the heart and soul of West Virginia football in 2023.
A three-time team captain, and Second Team All-American last year was drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even though he's no longer in the building, his impact is still being felt.
"We will miss Zach and five years from now I'm sure I'll say the same thing," West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said.
Frazier anchored WVU's offensive line for the past four seasons, starting as a true freshman before he was drafted this past spring.
"Bottom line he's a great player, changed our program which I've said publicly a lot. I miss him at practice just because I never had to worry, I never thought one time in four years, is Zach Frazier ready to go today," Brown said. "I never thought that one time. I would have to create ways to get on him, so, I miss him just because he loved to practice and loved to compete. But, with that being said, he's out of eligibility here, so the challenge is now, what does this new reiteration of our offensive line and how can we be better because that's the goal."
Offensive line coach Matt Moore was with Frazier day in and day out, seeing the type of worker he is on the practice field as well as the type of leader he is upfront. The standard Frazier set of how to work and the process of preparation is something that is not lost on Moore or the remaining O-linemen that were under Frazier's wing.
"Frazier set a standard. He set a standard and he was the guy I pointed at for four years, be like him, do like him, work like him, study like him, practice like him, play like him. And these guys around him all did that," Moore said. "Him and Doug [Nester] both. Those were two really good o-linemen that we lost but these other guys, they want to hold that standard. They're not sitting there going, 'Oh, we don't have to be as good.' We may be a little bit different by the way we do things but I think we have the chance to be just as good as we were last year up front."
Frazier's demeanor is also what Moore wants out of his guys. Frazier was a professional in every aspect and he carried himself in a quiet way, leading by example.
"Offensive linemen, less emotional. I tell my guys all the time, for you to get on the field, we have to trust you and for us to trust you, you have to do the same thing over and over," Moore said.
"You got to be non-emotional and you got to be the same guy every day, the same guy every snap. Frazier was up here, but he was like that every day. I'm looking for non-emotional guys, from a mentality standpoint, you got to be able to overcome losses, you got to be short memory."
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