ITG 145 - Zach Frazier Joins the Show
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00:00 [MUSIC]
00:00:05 In the gun episode 145, man, we are getting old here on your new favorite
00:00:10 WVU football podcast, and we have got another.
00:00:14 Our offseason celebrity A-list continues today.
00:00:18 This is the Zach Frazier episode.
00:00:21 West Virginian, mountaineer, legend, cult hero.
00:00:26 Not enough adjectives to describe this guy, gentlemen, but Zach Frazier,
00:00:31 his father Ray, as well, too, gonna join us on this edition of ITG.
00:00:36 And I tell you what, big, we've had some big guests, but
00:00:40 this one's gonna be a lot of fun.
00:00:41 Zach Frazier as he's closed the chapter on his mountaineer football career,
00:00:46 getting ready for the NFL Draft, rocketing up draft boards.
00:00:50 This is a fun one.
00:00:51 This is a big catch for us here on ITG.
00:00:55 >> Yeah, a lot of good questions, and I'm ready to hear the locker room stories and
00:01:02 kind of the whirlwind he's kind of been on since what took place on the field.
00:01:10 And fast forward to now, where's he at in progression?
00:01:14 So super pumped.
00:01:16 Zach, dang warrior man, I'm ready.
00:01:19 >> Yeah, me as well, too.
00:01:23 And Jed, I know you've been working on this one, and
00:01:26 I know you've got a relationship with Ray, with Mr. Frazier.
00:01:29 And there's gonna be some cool stories flying around here for sure.
00:01:33 >> Yeah, Ray's good people, Zach's good people, come from a great family.
00:01:37 Ray and I'll talk about some of the fact that we kind of went up against each other.
00:01:43 >> That's right, that's right.
00:01:44 >> Way back when we wore younger men's clothes.
00:01:46 But I can't get past this.
00:01:49 Here comes Zach.
00:01:51 If there is a living legend in West Virginia football, Zach is one of those,
00:01:56 right?
00:01:57 I have to wonder, and Wes, weigh in on this.
00:02:00 When you look at the folk legend factor that's going to be on this episode tonight,
00:02:06 I just can't decide, is Zach Paul Bunyan and Owen the Blue Ox?
00:02:10 Or is Zach the Blue Ox and Owen the Paul Bunyan, right?
00:02:14 We have two of West Virginia's biggest folk legends in one podcast episode.
00:02:20 I don't know if that's ever happened in the history of West Virginia podcasting,
00:02:23 right?
00:02:24 Something might break tonight, it might be too heavy.
00:02:26 >> You know what, it's funny, Jed, that you say that.
00:02:29 Because on my list of notes here, one of the things that I had to ask Zach was
00:02:33 about that, how you could argue there hasn't been a Mountaineer who's had
00:02:38 a legendary of ending as their career since Owen Schmidt that you had down there.
00:02:43 >> Yeah. >> In Waco.
00:02:44 So it is funny how that works.
00:02:47 And listen, we all know the legend of Owen Schmidt, I mean, buddy,
00:02:51 that's a tough one for anybody to be stacked up against.
00:02:55 But like I said, I mean, that is the closest thing that's reminded me.
00:02:57 Now, Zach just, when he gets introduced in the NFL in the fall and
00:03:01 he runs out of the tunnel, right?
00:03:02 He's just gotta crank his helmet over his head a couple times and
00:03:04 make himself bleed.
00:03:05 >> Yeah. >> And then maybe he'll really be on
00:03:07 Owen's level.
00:03:09 But no, Jed, it's funny you said that.
00:03:10 I literally had that in my notes here to ask him about that and
00:03:15 the way his career ended and do the example of Owen and for different reasons.
00:03:19 But very memorable kind of final moments where in the old golden blue.
00:03:23 >> Yeah, he hasn't leaked the McCordy, but he has dragged himself off the field.
00:03:29 So maybe in the grand scheme of things, they're kind of equal.
00:03:33 I don't know, right?
00:03:34 >> Well, I tell you what, with this announcement that yes,
00:03:37 EA Sports will be making a college football game this summer.
00:03:40 We gotta get Zach on one of the covers, right?
00:03:42 And then we'll really bring this thing full circle.
00:03:45 >> Which did you, I sent it to the group thread.
00:03:48 Did you see what the WVU football count on Twitter tweeted?
00:03:52 >> Listen, back to back days of Big O getting some love from the official
00:03:57 WVU accounts and happy belated birthday, Big O as well.
00:04:01 >> Yeah.
00:04:01 >> Yeah, a little bit of a special time, the Aquarius's rule February.
00:04:07 >> [LAUGH] >> All the cool kids.
00:04:10 >> Wailing at it.
00:04:11 >> Yeah, you know what I mean, Aquarius.
00:04:14 My boy Wailing, his is on Valentine's Day as well.
00:04:17 So we're back to back birthdays, so.
00:04:20 >> Isn't majors the 15th?
00:04:22 Major Harris the 15th?
00:04:24 What is it with mid February, right?
00:04:27 >> I don't know, man.
00:04:27 >> In Mountain View Royalty.
00:04:29 >> Well, Jed, I'm at the end of February, so all the cool kids.
00:04:34 All the cool kids born here in February, yes.
00:04:36 So I tell you what.
00:04:38 >> How far at the end of February?
00:04:40 >> Well, usually the last day of February except for every four years.
00:04:44 So February 28th.
00:04:45 >> I was gonna say, it's February 29th, are you like five years old now?
00:04:47 >> February, I look like I'm five years old sometimes, don't I?
00:04:50 But yes, February 28th is my birthday.
00:04:53 It will not be the last day of February this year.
00:04:55 But usually I close down the month of February.
00:04:58 But yes, Big O, all the cool kids are born in February.
00:05:02 It's the shortest month for a reason.
00:05:03 It's an exclusive club to be born in there, all right?
00:05:06 And big shout out to Big O, big shout out to Waylon as well too.
00:05:10 Hope you guys had a fun couple back to back birthdays there.
00:05:13 All right, before we go to break,
00:05:15 like we always do on these special guest episodes.
00:05:18 We're gonna get wrapped up in a lot.
00:05:19 And we'll mention some of these sponsors as we roll along.
00:05:22 But I wanna make sure to give everybody a thank you up front so
00:05:24 that we know that we don't miss anybody.
00:05:26 So a big thanks to Bet Online for being a presenting sponsor of In The Gun.
00:05:31 We all know where the game starts is at Bet Online.
00:05:34 Yeah, football's over, but you got basketball, you got hockey,
00:05:36 you got March Madness rolling in here.
00:05:39 So make sure you're going to Bet Online for all of your action there to get in
00:05:44 on the game where the game starts at Bet Online.
00:05:46 A big thank you to JR and Toothman Ford.
00:05:49 We all know cars cost less than grafting.
00:05:51 They do great work for our athletes and NIL.
00:05:53 Make sure you're supporting those who support the Mountaineers.
00:05:56 Fortis, another one of our longtime friends here now on this podcast.
00:06:01 And our guy Rick Lewis for
00:06:02 roof performance and financial certainty guaranteed.
00:06:05 Make sure you visit fortis.us.com.
00:06:08 And our newest friends of the program,
00:06:10 Johnston Equipment on route 33 between Weston and Buchanan.
00:06:15 We are big excited, big thrilled to have Johnston Equipment in the fold here
00:06:19 as well too.
00:06:20 All right, we're gonna take our break.
00:06:21 We'll have Zach Frazier, his father Ray with us as well too.
00:06:24 When we come back on the other side, this will be a fun one.
00:06:27 You are in the gun.
00:06:28 >> Nobody supports the blue and gold Mountaineers like Toothman Ford.
00:06:31 With over 20 NIL deals and counting,
00:06:33 Toothman Ford continues to rally behind our student athletes.
00:06:36 And it's time we rally and support the dealer that supports the Mountaineers.
00:06:40 Not only does Toothman Ford offer the best prices in the state on pre-owned,
00:06:43 their never over MSRP campaign on new Fords guaranteed to save you thousands.
00:06:48 Drive with pride all season long,
00:06:50 knowing you're supporting the dealer that fuels our Mountaineers.
00:06:53 Toothman Ford, where cars cost less, in Grafton and at toothmanford.com.
00:06:57 >> For more West Virginia Mountaineer football content,
00:07:02 be sure to follow us on Twitter, @inthegunpodcast.
00:07:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:07:09 >> For nearly 20 years, Fortis has been the nation's leader in providing
00:07:13 guaranteed roof performance programs for commercial buildings.
00:07:16 Fortis offers roof performance solutions that feature extensive initial and
00:07:20 ongoing reconditioning for commercial buildings as an alternative to
00:07:23 traditional replacement with long term performance guarantees that are backed by
00:07:27 the global leader, Lloyd's of London.
00:07:29 Fortis offers a comprehensive range of roof performance management programs that
00:07:32 provide financial security, extend the life of our customers' roofs, and
00:07:36 make a significant impact on ROI.
00:07:38 Fortis is currently improving performance and
00:07:40 increasing ROI for customers at more than 4,800 locations.
00:07:44 With more than 140 million square feet protected, including many Fortune 500
00:07:49 companies that have turned to Fortis to save money, gain financial certainty, and
00:07:53 extend the life of their existing roofs.
00:07:55 Fortis has helped customers save more than $520 million in capital roof
00:07:59 replacement costs for an average ROI of over 250%.
00:08:04 To learn more, visit fortis.us.com.
00:08:07 Fortis, roof performance and financial certainty guaranteed.
00:08:10 [MUSIC]
00:08:13 >> If you work the land, you just gotta be a jack of all trades type.
00:08:17 There's just too much to do.
00:08:19 So if you gotta be a welder, or a farmer, or a ditch digger,
00:08:24 that's just who you are that day.
00:08:25 Then tomorrow, you can be somebody else.
00:08:29 [MUSIC]
00:08:35 >> Get your Coyote at the new location of Johnston Equipment,
00:08:38 between Weston and Buckhannon.
00:08:40 >> Back in the gun here, and we for the first time ever have a pair of guests.
00:08:45 We've got Zach Frazier and his father, Ray Frazier.
00:08:48 I think Ray, one of our original kind of long time listeners here of ITG.
00:08:54 But gentlemen, we're happy to have you back on here.
00:08:56 First time, like I said, we've ever had two guests at the same time.
00:08:59 This will be a lot of fun.
00:09:01 Zach, thank you so much for taking the time.
00:09:04 We know Zach doesn't need much of an introduction.
00:09:07 Halt hero, folk hero, legend amongst Mountaineer Nation.
00:09:11 First Mountaineer to start on the offensive line as a freshman since 1980.
00:09:16 The accolades rolled along from there.
00:09:18 All American, all Big 12, gonna be at the combine here in a couple weeks and
00:09:23 a pretty high draft pick of an NFL team that's gonna be lucky enough to
00:09:27 secure his services.
00:09:29 Ladies and gentlemen, Zach Frazier with us here in the gun.
00:09:33 Zach, thanks for taking the time.
00:09:34 We know this is a busy time, busy process for you.
00:09:37 So just kind of before we get into some stuff, where are you at right now?
00:09:40 What's your day to day look like?
00:09:41 What are you up to?
00:09:43 >> Yeah, well, thank you for the introduction first and
00:09:47 thanks for having me on.
00:09:48 But right now I'm just training in Dallas and just training and
00:09:53 rehabbing every day and just getting ready for the combine and
00:09:57 pro day and stuff like that.
00:09:58 >> We know it's a challenge for you being away from home,
00:10:02 the sacrifice that you're making.
00:10:04 I mean, you're halfway across the country, but it's gonna pay off eventually.
00:10:09 And for those listening, for those watching on YouTube,
00:10:12 it made a lot of sense when we wanted to orchestrate this thing and get you on here.
00:10:18 Your dad and I have a history, he's always meant a lot to me.
00:10:23 Again, for those listening, back in my Glenville days,
00:10:26 I've told Ray he was a pup my senior year at Glenville State.
00:10:30 He was a freshman at Fairmont State, so we were part of that rivalry.
00:10:34 We were old school conference realignment.
00:10:37 Our conference is no longer around.
00:10:39 It's now a different conference.
00:10:40 But we just thought Ray it would make sense to kind of get you on here with
00:10:45 Zach out of town and maybe help coordinate some of these stories.
00:10:48 Cuz there's gonna be a lot of information flying.
00:10:51 And you've been so instrumental in turning Zach into what he is today.
00:10:56 So we appreciate you being here as well.
00:10:59 >> Yeah, thank you for having both of us.
00:11:01 We really appreciate it.
00:11:02 >> So we're excited to have you guys did.
00:11:05 This is gonna be a lot of fun.
00:11:09 Zach, let me kick things off here real quick.
00:11:13 What, cuz I'm not gonna put my similar situation the same as you.
00:11:19 But going into where you're at kinda right now before the draft,
00:11:24 I ended up getting invited to the senior bowl.
00:11:27 Ended up suffering a grade two MCL sprain, like second day of practice.
00:11:32 So it kinda put me out of the full on kinda training aspect of
00:11:37 going into the draft, what, give us the day to day,
00:11:41 like really the nuts and bolts, the kinda like, hey,
00:11:46 6 AM this is kinda where I start.
00:11:49 Give us a run through of kinda like the full day view.
00:11:54 >> Yeah, so basically our week kinda goes Monday and
00:11:59 Tuesday we lift and have like a skill session.
00:12:04 Which is like the combine drills and stuff like that.
00:12:09 Wednesday is a recovery day.
00:12:11 And then Thursday and Friday we're back at lifting and doing skill work as well.
00:12:17 And then Saturday morning's an arm workout and
00:12:23 it's kind of like a recovery day to a lot of stretching and
00:12:28 just kinda making sure your body's feeling good.
00:12:31 >> What, is there any football work in there?
00:12:34 How long of a day is it for you right now?
00:12:36 >> I say that are a good bit just because I also do a lot of the recovery
00:12:44 stuff down here like they have a hyperbaric chamber and
00:12:47 I normally get in that for at least an hour every day.
00:12:50 They also have like a red light bed, which I normally get in for
00:12:55 like 30 or 40 minutes a day.
00:12:58 I just spend a lot, I have nothing else to do down here.
00:13:00 So I spend a lot of time there.
00:13:03 I get there either at six or our first workouts at six on Mondays and
00:13:08 Thursdays and then at eight on Tuesdays and Fridays.
00:13:12 So I'm normally here until like probably two or three every day.
00:13:18 But yeah, I don't have anything else to do.
00:13:22 So I'll try to do as much as I can.
00:13:24 And of course, I spend a lot of time rehabbing in the training room as well.
00:13:29 >> Awesome, awesome.
00:13:31 Which hyperbaric chamber are you in?
00:13:34 Are you in like the lay down pill one that you zip up and
00:13:37 like it blows up or they got something fancier?
00:13:41 >> Yeah, they have one of those and
00:13:43 they also have one where you just like sit in a chair in there.
00:13:47 But I like the laying down one more.
00:13:50 >> Yeah, get you some Zs?
00:13:51 >> Yeah.
00:13:52 >> Man, I remember going through all that stuff just thinking to myself like, man,
00:13:55 I thought I was just playing football.
00:13:57 >> Yeah, yeah, it's a lot more science than just playing.
00:14:02 >> [LAUGH] It's crazy.
00:14:04 >> One of the convenient things this year,
00:14:07 unlike years past, Pro Day has been in Morgantown, right?
00:14:11 But with what the Big 12 is doing, Pro Day, all the teams are gonna congregate
00:14:15 right there where you are in the Dallas area.
00:14:18 So that'll be pretty convenient for you to be on hand.
00:14:21 What will you be able to do by Pro Day in terms of taking part in?
00:14:26 >> I should be, it's kind of just where I'm at.
00:14:31 So I'm ahead of schedule so far.
00:14:35 I'm running and cutting right now.
00:14:37 But it's not ready to be timed.
00:14:43 Like, I'm running good, but I'm not back to 100% yet.
00:14:50 >> Yeah.
00:14:51 >> I have to start trusting it again, trusting my leg.
00:14:55 And it just doesn't have, it's getting better fast,
00:15:01 but it's just not caught up to my other leg yet.
00:15:03 It's close, but so Pro Day, I think I should be able to do most things.
00:15:10 I'll definitely be able to do the field workouts.
00:15:12 Just kind of have to see where my numbers are at, if they're worth running or not.
00:15:18 >> So Ray, you're a former center yourself, and
00:15:22 this is one of the things that has always fascinated me.
00:15:26 Your relationship with Zach, it still benefits him today.
00:15:31 When he was growing up, one of the things you guys would do is you'd sit around and
00:15:37 watch every football game you could watch.
00:15:40 And during commercial breaks, you wouldn't just run to the bathroom or
00:15:43 run for a bowl full of chips.
00:15:45 I mean, you guys would sit there and discuss some of the things you've just
00:15:47 seen.
00:15:48 In other words, taking your eye off the ball type of watching football.
00:15:52 Hey, did you see that stunt they tried to run?
00:15:54 Did you see what they did to pick up that twist?
00:15:57 I mean, those types of things.
00:15:59 How young of an age were you guys having those conversations, Ray?
00:16:02 Walk us through what it was like for you and Zach and how that took shape.
00:16:06 >> Yeah, I mean, we would, I'd say probably as early as probably seven,
00:16:11 eight years old.
00:16:12 I mean, he knew a little bit about probably more than what most kids
00:16:17 would know at that age.
00:16:19 He knew what a kick slide was pretty early.
00:16:22 He knew about twist pickups.
00:16:25 He knew to stay on the same level, like all those things like that.
00:16:27 We would do that.
00:16:28 And like I said, I mean, we would do it kind of just during the commercial
00:16:34 break whenever I would see something and I'd kind of say, hey, look at this.
00:16:39 And just so he kind of could get a visual of it.
00:16:43 But then as soon as the game would come right back on,
00:16:45 we'd be right back to watching the game just like any father son would.
00:16:48 But I just thought it was a good way to learn and
00:16:52 he was always wanting to learn so it always fit in pretty well.
00:16:55 >> Guys, Ray is kind of a football nerd like me in the sense that
00:17:02 when we have conversations,
00:17:03 it's often about things that normal human beings don't talk about, all right?
00:17:07 It's kind of the geeky parts of the game, right?
00:17:10 From a game management standpoint on that line.
00:17:13 And you can kind of, if you're listening closely,
00:17:15 the cracks between the keys where you find the gold with Ray.
00:17:18 Like listen to what he just said right there.
00:17:19 I don't even think he realizes what he said.
00:17:21 He just so matter of factly said, little things like staying on the same level.
00:17:26 Well, most people have no idea what you're talking about, right?
00:17:30 What he's describing there, and of course, Zach's probably gonna nod and say,
00:17:33 of course, I know what he's talking about.
00:17:35 But when a defense is trying to run stunts, when they're twisting or
00:17:39 chopping up the front, one of the things that offensive lines,
00:17:42 especially interior offensive linemen like centers and
00:17:45 guards are trained to do is not get disjointed and stay on the same level.
00:17:51 But what was striking to me right there is how matter of factly Ray said that.
00:17:55 Nobody missed a beat.
00:17:56 Of course, Zach nodded.
00:17:57 I mean, he's having seven, eight years old having these types of conversations.
00:18:01 Ray, do you hear yourself?
00:18:04 >> Well, I mean, he would pick it up fast.
00:18:07 I mean, we would just really, I wouldn't try to go crazy with stuff.
00:18:13 But like I said, I mean, he was only seven, eight years old, but
00:18:16 he would pick it up pretty fast.
00:18:18 So I mean, I just always thought it was good to have a visual with that.
00:18:21 But no, he was always coachable.
00:18:25 I mean, he's always been coachable and he's always wanted to learn.
00:18:28 So I mean, evident, so.
00:18:32 >> Zach, has it always been center?
00:18:34 I mean, has center always been the end goal for you?
00:18:36 I know you started your freshman year at left guard, I think nine of those ten
00:18:39 games, but was center kind of always the ultimate goal, the position that you loved?
00:18:43 >> I actually played right guard all through middle school and high school.
00:18:49 I didn't play center until I got up to WVU, but
00:18:54 I knew going into it that that was the position they wanted me to play.
00:18:58 >> Got you.
00:19:00 >> Speaking of the center position, let's just talk about O-line a little bit.
00:19:07 We'll go back to the high school days of getting dirty on the wrestling mat here.
00:19:14 How, if you could tell any aspiring athlete in the football world,
00:19:20 especially upcoming O-line men, how important did wrestling play in your
00:19:27 growth of athletic ability with the center position?
00:19:31 Not just center, but guard too as well, kinda?
00:19:33 >> Yeah, I would say for any young offensive lineman or
00:19:38 defense lineman even, I would definitely recommend wrestling just because
00:19:44 there's so much carry over.
00:19:46 There's so many things that I kinda do on the field that I don't really even realize,
00:19:53 but it's just my natural reaction just from wrestling.
00:19:57 And just knowing how to use your hands and understanding leverage and
00:20:02 really just understanding where the defense lineman's weight is and
00:20:07 how to move them based on that.
00:20:09 >> Would you feel like there's a mental toughness aspect as well,
00:20:15 kinda that has kinda gone with you, grew a little bit because of that as well?
00:20:21 >> Definitely, that's the other main thing is,
00:20:26 wrestling to me is so much harder than football.
00:20:31 From a training aspect and just a mental aspect as you said too,
00:20:37 it's a six or seven minute match and there's no breaks like in football.
00:20:43 You have a five second play and a 40 second break.
00:20:46 So I mean, wrestling is, you have to be in a lot better shape and
00:20:51 it's also like mental grind.
00:20:53 So I think because I wrestled, it kinda makes football a lot easier.
00:21:01 It's not as hard to train for football as it is for wrestling.
00:21:07 So it makes everything else a lot easier for me.
00:21:10 >> Yeah, when did that journey kinda start for you, that whole wrestling deal?
00:21:14 >> Yeah, I started when I was probably four or five years old and
00:21:19 wrestled all the way through high school.
00:21:21 So something- >> Okay, that explains a lot.
00:21:24 >> Yeah, yeah.
00:21:25 >> It does.
00:21:27 >> That's a lot of years.
00:21:30 >> Yeah, definitely.
00:21:31 >> I tell you, my wrestling background, I didn't have one.
00:21:35 I married into a wrestling family.
00:21:39 I mean, my wife's family, all his uncles, my father-in-law,
00:21:43 they're all just tremendous wrestlers.
00:21:46 And but I've learned to really love the sport.
00:21:50 I really, like Zach said, I mean, it really, really just meshes well with
00:21:55 football and I know it's helped him out a lot.
00:21:58 >> What do you remember when he was four or five years old about him wrestling?
00:22:03 >> [LAUGH] I just remember him, every year we would just,
00:22:09 I mean, at first he just kinda started out kinda just practicing.
00:22:14 And then we just kept, every year would kinda build a little bit on it.
00:22:17 But I just remember that he really was very competitive.
00:22:24 And as he kept growing in the sport, he just kept wanting to do better and better.
00:22:30 And he'd work his tail off.
00:22:34 I mean, and I think a lot of that, and I know he'd probably wanna talk about,
00:22:41 but the influence that his grandfather's had on him.
00:22:45 Because he was a big influence on him with wrestling, as were all of his uncles.
00:22:53 But my father-in-law, he's a former coal miner, he's tough as nails.
00:22:58 He's the most mentally tough, physically tough person that you'll find.
00:23:03 And I know Zach would agree with that.
00:23:05 And so I'd say his father-in-law's had, I mean, my father-in-law,
00:23:11 his grandfather has had a tremendous influence on him.
00:23:15 >> Talk about that, Zach.
00:23:17 >> It's hard to beat a grandpa, man.
00:23:19 >> Yeah, yeah, definitely.
00:23:21 I would say my dad was basically my football influence.
00:23:27 And then my mom's side of the family was my wrestling influence.
00:23:33 And my grandpa definitely helped me with that.
00:23:37 I remember sometimes I would go to the middle school practice,
00:23:43 and then I would go to the high school practice.
00:23:47 And then he would take me down to my uncle's house and
00:23:51 put me through another workout.
00:23:54 So he definitely trained me hard, yeah.
00:23:56 >> [LAUGH] >> 12 hour day, there you go.
00:24:00 >> Yeah.
00:24:01 >> So double back.
00:24:01 >> That was normally on the Christmas break when you have all day, so.
00:24:07 >> [LAUGH] >> More spare time, no days off, baby.
00:24:10 >> That's what Christmas breaks for us.
00:24:11 >> Yeah, yeah.
00:24:13 >> I'll tell you something else he would do that was kind of funny, but
00:24:17 he was a master motivator.
00:24:18 He would have some days if there was somebody that was gonna be somebody
00:24:23 Zach was gonna have to wrestle or was gonna have to beat him, he'd have,
00:24:28 he'd say, I wonder what that guy from Parkersburg's doing today.
00:24:32 >> [LAUGH] >> I wonder what, and
00:24:36 then he would just walk off and then Zach would go to work.
00:24:40 >> [LAUGH] >> What were summers like?
00:24:44 >> The summers I basically, I would go to a wrestling camp or two.
00:24:49 But I didn't wrestle outside of wrestling season,
00:24:53 just because football was kind of always my favorite sport.
00:24:57 And as I got older, that's when all the camps were and
00:25:01 that's where you had to go to camps to get recruited.
00:25:05 So I didn't really wrestle too much out of wrestling season, but
00:25:09 it was mainly just lifting for football and then going to football camps.
00:25:13 >> Just real quick to just segue in what you kind of said,
00:25:17 how integral was the weight room for you?
00:25:20 Did you just fall in love with it?
00:25:22 Was it kind of like, cuz I feel like when I really started lifting weights,
00:25:27 I fell in love with the entire process of training and
00:25:31 then starting to understand how it worked developmentally with my skill sets.
00:25:38 But when did that kind of get integrated into your overall
00:25:44 becoming the mountain of a man you are today?
00:25:48 >> I would say, I think, I guess my dad could correct me,
00:25:54 but I think seventh grade, I kind of started lifting.
00:25:59 And that was mainly just learning technique, I didn't really-
00:26:03 >> Yeah, body weight stuff, yeah.
00:26:06 >> So just like my dad just kind of taught me good form and stuff like that.
00:26:12 And then pretty much from my eighth grade year on,
00:26:16 I was lifting pretty consistently.
00:26:19 And yeah, and then I also had a made,
00:26:24 turned our garage into a weight room.
00:26:30 And then just kinda, I guess my dad could talk about it more, but I just asked for
00:26:35 stuff for Christmas and birthdays until I had a good weight room and
00:26:39 just used it all through high school.
00:26:41 >> So dad hooked it up, huh?
00:26:45 >> Yeah.
00:26:46 >> Yeah, and one of the things when he first started lifting,
00:26:51 like he said about seventh grade, and obviously you started with really high
00:26:56 reps and he's as competitive, he was competitive then as he is now.
00:27:01 And he would always wanna, he wanted to move up in weight as fast and
00:27:06 I'd always tell him if you could do these reps and so he would always be motivated.
00:27:10 So if I said 12 reps, well, he'd get to that 13th rep and then he knew he could
00:27:15 move up, but we try to do it smart early on because obviously,
00:27:19 I'm just gonna start now, but yeah, he worked hard.
00:27:24 He was working hard in seventh grade.
00:27:26 >> It's awesome.
00:27:27 >> That's amazing stuff.
00:27:29 Obviously, you can see the work ethic that's grown into what's going on and
00:27:35 why you're at where you're at today.
00:27:37 >> Yeah, so piggybacking off of that too, Zach, I'm curious.
00:27:42 You clearly had a vision, you had a plan, you attacked this dream that you had.
00:27:48 Was the dream always WVU?
00:27:50 I mean, you had some options coming out of high school, right?
00:27:53 I mean, you had some other high level programs that you could have played for,
00:27:56 but was it always WVU?
00:27:58 You talked about how you loved wrestling, but football was really it for you.
00:28:02 Was the goal always I wanna play football at WVU, or
00:28:07 did that take maybe a little bit longer to develop?
00:28:08 >> Yeah, I think from a young age, my thing was I always wanna play in the NFL.
00:28:17 That was kinda my goal.
00:28:18 I was named after Zach Thomas, the linebacker for the-
00:28:24 >> Yeah, yeah, nice.
00:28:27 >> Yeah, and I had a fat head in my room from probably third grade on.
00:28:33 But so I always wanted to play in the NFL, but
00:28:37 West Virginia was always my favorite college team growing up too.
00:28:44 Kind of when I was going through the recruiting process with,
00:28:49 my first offer was from the old staff from Holgersen.
00:28:53 And they wanted me to play defense.
00:28:57 And at the time, I had some offers for offense and defense.
00:29:02 And I didn't really have a favorite.
00:29:05 I like both just as much, but
00:29:07 kind of deep down I think I knew I'd be better at offense.
00:29:13 So when the new staff came and they said that they honor my scholarship,
00:29:19 but they wanted me to play offense.
00:29:21 Then it was kind of a done deal because, I don't know, I just kind of felt like I
00:29:26 would be better as an offense lineman than a defense lineman.
00:29:31 >> Owen Gibby always be stealing, man.
00:29:34 He was trying to steal Zach, trying to get him over to the defense, wasn't he?
00:29:38 So- >> Yeah,
00:29:38 they said I was a little too short to play offense.
00:29:42 >> [LAUGH] >> Wait, real quick, real quick.
00:29:44 >> I think you can tell, go ahead.
00:29:46 >> Just real quick, I have to piggyback off of that.
00:29:48 Did you have a favorite Mountaineer growing up?
00:29:50 >> I love watching everyone, even Owen and Pat White,
00:29:57 Gino Smith, Tavon Austin, Stephen Bate, all those guys.
00:30:01 That was a fun time to be a kid and watch all that stuff.
00:30:04 >> It sure was, it sure was.
00:30:06 >> Yeah, that was probably the best time to be a kid and watch all those guys.
00:30:11 >> As you can tell, we got a house full of Dolphins fans, guys.
00:30:16 We're not gonna hold against them, raised from Florida.
00:30:18 >> [LAUGH] >> All right, so they got a reason, right?
00:30:21 But- >> Hard time now.
00:30:24 >> So here we go.
00:30:26 >> I'll tell you one interesting thing, and I don't know, Zach.
00:30:29 I think he probably will remember this, but this is a true story.
00:30:33 This is the absolute truth.
00:30:35 We were at Stanford, and we were watching the practice one day.
00:30:40 We were at, it was during their spring football, and we're out there kind of on
00:30:44 a visit, and this was kind of like when he was going through the recruiting process.
00:30:49 And we're sitting in the end zone watching,
00:30:51 cuz they were actually recruiting him for defense, they were.
00:30:55 And so we're watching defensive position drills, and
00:31:00 all of a sudden Zach nudged me, and he said, do you hear that?
00:31:03 And I said, hear what?
00:31:05 And I couldn't make it out.
00:31:07 He said, you don't hear that?
00:31:09 I kid you not, Zach can verify this.
00:31:12 It was Country Roads playing at the Aquatics Outdoor Center.
00:31:15 So I was like, I read that it was over, but I didn't say anything.
00:31:19 But I knew.
00:31:20 >> Yeah, well, actually, well, before we got on the plane,
00:31:25 there was a West Virginia university advertisement,
00:31:32 right on the terminal, in the Pittsburgh airport.
00:31:35 >> That's awesome.
00:31:36 >> And then when we went there at the practice there, at the diving center,
00:31:40 they started playing Country Roads.
00:31:42 And then when we got back, landed or whatever, I fell asleep on the way home.
00:31:49 And then right when I woke up, I looked up and
00:31:52 there was the West Virginia billboard, so that was-
00:31:56 >> Yeah, well, the ghost of John Denver giving you a nudge.
00:32:00 >> Yeah. >> There you go.
00:32:01 >> Yeah, right, us?
00:32:03 >> Sure, yeah.
00:32:05 >> So you're both centers.
00:32:07 Here's what I gotta ask you, all right, now the game's changed.
00:32:09 Ray, as I remember when you played for Doug Samms, who was the head coach at
00:32:14 Farmer, you guys had some gun stuff, some stuff in the gun.
00:32:18 That's where our podcast got its name, Owen and I both played in the gun.
00:32:21 But you were under center a lot too.
00:32:23 What I've always thought was unique about center, especially in the modern game,
00:32:27 it's the only position in sports that you're basically throwing a no look pass
00:32:33 on every play, you're sending the football somewhere without even seeing
00:32:38 where you're sending it, so I always wondered, do you prefer facing an odd
00:32:43 front defense in which you have a defensive lineman covering you?
00:32:47 Or do you prefer an even front defense where you're uncovered?
00:32:50 And I was always fascinated by these answers,
00:32:53 I want both of you to answer that.
00:32:54 Like Orlowski, Ty Orlowski always told me, he said,
00:32:57 Jed, I'd rather be covered because it's an easier first step.
00:33:01 I don't have to reach as much, if I'm uncovered I do, so
00:33:04 it's more work after the snap.
00:33:06 So what do you guys, covered, uncovered, Zach, Ray?
00:33:11 >> Yeah, let Zach go first, go ahead.
00:33:12 >> That's a tough question.
00:33:15 I don't know if I really,
00:33:19 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:33:22 Maybe, I don't know, I like both, I don't have a, I don't think I have a favorite.
00:33:28 >> Does it matter who's covering you?
00:33:31 Whether it's Siaki, Iko, or, right?
00:33:33 >> Maybe, I think I like to be uncovered actually, I like, I think I like, yeah.
00:33:42 I mean, I don't know, I like both, it's hard for me to.
00:33:46 >> He's thinking, isn't he?
00:33:47 So in other words, you're uncovered, walk people through this now.
00:33:50 In other words, you're gonna move to the nearest defensive lineman to double team,
00:33:54 right, you're gonna probably target that hip.
00:33:56 Walk people through what you're doing, you're uncovered,
00:33:58 you gotta first make the snap, which people think is a given, but it's absolutely not.
00:34:03 So walk us through that, and then Ray will answer what he thinks.
00:34:06 >> Yeah, so it depends on if we're running stretch,
00:34:12 or like outside zone, or inside zone, or counter.
00:34:15 So stretch is probably my favorite to four down front,
00:34:21 just because I like running off the ball.
00:34:23 And I feel like I can tee off on some of those down linemen.
00:34:28 And then like inside zone, it's more, so maybe inside zone, I like having a nose.
00:34:34 And then outside zone, I like to be uncovered, so I'll put it like that.
00:34:37 >> We're on to something, I love that, that makes perfect sense, perfect sense.
00:34:42 Dad, how about you?
00:34:43 >> For me, it's an even front, definitely.
00:34:45 But now, those guys that are better centers than I am,
00:34:49 they don't mind an odd or even front, but for me, it's an even front.
00:34:54 I dream look would be a two-eye, and
00:34:57 I like to go lateral a little bit with inside zone.
00:35:01 And now stretch was not my best play, I'll be honest.
00:35:06 He thankfully has a lot better lateral movement than I do, but
00:35:13 he can reach a three very easily.
00:35:15 I would have a hard time.
00:35:17 [LAUGH] I'm not, but he has the capability to do that if he needed to.
00:35:23 So I'm not the lateral movement was not the best.
00:35:29 I kind of joke and I say, I gave him the neck up.
00:35:33 >> [LAUGH] >> But I had a,
00:35:38 I filled a pretty good career at Fairmont State, but-
00:35:43 >> You sure did.
00:35:44 >> Was level of what Zach is, but I guess it's supposed to be that way.
00:35:49 But no, I loved every minute playing college ball, it was great.
00:35:53 >> See Big O smiling, Zach, when you were talking stretch?
00:35:57 You're speaking his language right there.
00:35:59 Did you see Owen smiling when you were talking about the stretch?
00:36:02 >> I couldn't see him on the screen, but that's funny.
00:36:05 >> Yeah, you're speaking his language right there.
00:36:07 >> Yeah. >> Yeah, stretch zone, baby.
00:36:08 That's what's up.
00:36:10 That's where the money's made, man.
00:36:12 >> Definitely.
00:36:13 >> Real quick question, a run block,
00:36:17 cuz you and you kind of noted some of these things.
00:36:21 But is it the, what makes playing,
00:36:26 cuz fullback in lineman, we're kind of the center,
00:36:32 the front spear, right, the center of the guards.
00:36:36 Fullback's kind of the rear spear.
00:36:39 I always felt like I kind of had a connection with those guys up front.
00:36:43 But there's no real feeling when you pancake block somebody.
00:36:49 >> Yeah. >> I don't know how to really explain,
00:36:52 it's just like it's all the feel goods of everything.
00:36:55 Like pancaking somebody is like taking somebody's soul away from them.
00:37:01 >> Yeah. >> And I mean,
00:37:02 it's just, it's a beautiful thing, man.
00:37:05 And zone blocking leads so
00:37:09 many great opportunities to be able to showcase kind of what you can do there.
00:37:16 Run us through a zone play, actually,
00:37:22 a let's say your favorite run blocking play from this year.
00:37:28 Like your toughest one you thought you had.
00:37:35 >> My toughest assignment, is that?
00:37:40 >> Toughest assignment, toughest assignment, most beautiful result.
00:37:43 >> Most beautiful, okay, most beautiful result.
00:37:46 Okay, so this would probably be a stretch.
00:37:52 We ran stretch against BYU.
00:37:56 And it was kind of a game plan thing where I kind of knew,
00:38:02 when the three technique flipped his feet,
00:38:06 I knew that the pressure was coming from the other way.
00:38:08 And so kinda I knew that I had a three technique to my left and
00:38:15 they got player to my right.
00:38:17 So I knew that he was gonna, they got player was gonna cross my face.
00:38:20 So I kinda jumped over to the left because I knew he had to try to cross my face.
00:38:25 And I kinda pulled him across and then also got the linebacker.
00:38:30 And it was a big run, but it was mainly because of the film study that we do.
00:38:37 And Coach Moore and Ty and Jens and all of our offense line guys,
00:38:44 they work all week trying to find those little tells from what foots down?
00:38:52 Are they leaning?
00:38:53 Do they give away?
00:38:54 Do they have different stances when they're moving?
00:38:56 Stuff like that, which helps out a lot.
00:38:59 So that was kind of probably my favorite play just because of the film study
00:39:04 that went into it and then the result as well.
00:39:07 >> Now you guys spend a lot of time in the labs,
00:39:11 quote unquote lab, watching film.
00:39:15 >> Yeah, yeah, definitely.
00:39:17 I spend a good amount of time and then also talking with our coaches.
00:39:23 Like I said, they do a really good job of preparing me and
00:39:27 kind of telling me what they see as well.
00:39:29 And we kind of, we'll both watch it.
00:39:32 I'll watch it on my own, then I'll also watch it with them.
00:39:35 And they've had a lot of good little bits to tell me and
00:39:42 to prepare me and really help me out throughout my career.
00:39:45 >> As you- >> Pull back in a couple centers on here,
00:39:49 Owen.
00:39:50 >> Yeah. >> If I had to take a shot every time we
00:39:52 were talking about a two-iron three technique, I'd be on the floor already.
00:39:56 But for those listening, a two-eye is lined up over the guard, but
00:40:01 the inside shoulder of the guard, a three technique is over the guard,
00:40:04 outside shoulder.
00:40:05 So when you hear, for instance, when Zach was talking about that three technique to
00:40:08 his left, Zach, you were talking free snap.
00:40:11 His feet were showing you something, right?
00:40:14 >> Yeah, so normally, like a three technique on the guard would
00:40:19 have his inside foot back to the to the guard.
00:40:24 But he had his outside foot back, which isn't normal in that alignment.
00:40:29 But he had his outside foot because he was gonna go outside,
00:40:33 which meant the pressure was coming from the other way, so.
00:40:36 >> That's to compensate the other direction, yeah.
00:40:37 >> Yeah, and that was kind of one of the best things that our coaches found,
00:40:43 because it was 100% throughout the game.
00:40:46 And it was nice knowing when you're about to get some movement and stuff like that.
00:40:51 >> How awesome is that?
00:40:51 >> That's awesome.
00:40:53 >> That's the best.
00:40:54 It's the best, we were talking last week a little bit,
00:40:57 just on like scouting reports and stuff.
00:41:00 And I don't think people really realize how much work goes into,
00:41:04 that's like hours and hours and hours of film.
00:41:08 Not just, when you're really watching, what's going on for those plays.
00:41:14 These guys, we were so gracious to get these little scouting reports.
00:41:18 They have like three or four little notes about these players.
00:41:23 Now we can go in, really start to fine tune and break these guys down.
00:41:28 Like, hey, how am I gonna attack this guy?
00:41:30 That guy might be more athletic than I am, and most times they're not.
00:41:35 Especially when I got to the next level,
00:41:38 it was like everybody was more athletic than I was.
00:41:42 It was now, how do I outsmart them by good first steps?
00:41:47 Alignments like you were just talking about, all those little things
00:41:52 that kind of prolong you and give you some longevity in the pros.
00:41:57 I mean, super obviously, kind of know you are a film guy,
00:42:02 a film rat because you gotta be, you know what I mean?
00:42:06 And it only enhances as you go to the next level, you know what I'm saying?
00:42:10 I'm gonna get just a little bit off par here, but
00:42:14 how stoked are you for where you're at right now in life?
00:42:20 I mean, how juiced are you, dude?
00:42:22 Tell me what you're feeling, I mean, you gotta be excited,
00:42:26 all these kind of things, man.
00:42:28 >> Yeah, I'm very excited.
00:42:33 It's kind of nerve wracking at the same time,
00:42:37 cuz you don't really know what's gonna happen
00:42:42 until you get to that draft day or whatever.
00:42:47 But it's an exciting position to be in,
00:42:52 even though sometimes you wonder about where you go,
00:42:59 but you have no clue where you're going.
00:43:04 I don't know, it's a really cool position to be in, I would say.
00:43:08 >> Absolutely, man, it's a lifetime achievement, and
00:43:11 you've worked so hard for it, and everything's deserved.
00:43:14 I think one thing, a piece of advice I'll give you going into it,
00:43:18 cuz everybody wants to be a first round draft pick, whatever, you know what I mean?
00:43:23 But take what you get, right?
00:43:28 And if you don't get that, right, now that's all your motivation to go get it,
00:43:34 you know what I mean?
00:43:35 I look at a guy like Jason Kelce, who I've played with in Philly,
00:43:40 undersized dude, not really a ton of pizzazz kinda going into it,
00:43:45 but had such a work ethic and a determination to just be a competitor.
00:43:53 That's kinda like what I've seen.
00:43:55 I was telling Jason when I saw him for his, he dropped a Kelsey documentary
00:44:01 in Philly, and I got to go hang with him for the night.
00:44:05 And I was like, dude, there's this kid in West Virginia, man,
00:44:10 he's like, he would have drank 23 beers with us at any point.
00:44:15 He's that kinda dude, and I don't even know if you drink beer, man, but
00:44:19 I'm just saying, Zach Frazier's the dude who would be able to hang with us.
00:44:25 But I'm super stoked for you, man.
00:44:27 Jed, take it away, I know you got a thousand answers,
00:44:29 I got all mine out of the way.
00:44:31 Take it away, Jed.
00:44:33 >> That's good stuff, that's good stuff.
00:44:35 And I will say this, I'm glad you mentioned Kelsey, cuz he's retiring, and
00:44:39 I think we'd probably all regard him as the best center in the NFL.
00:44:42 So the NFL needs a new best center.
00:44:45 Well, I'd say, I'm gonna go Corey Linsley, probably be the third best.
00:44:49 Creed Humphrey would be the second best, and
00:44:50 yours truly is about to be the best center in pro football.
00:44:52 >> That's right. >> That's what's about to happen.
00:44:54 So before we get into what played out at Baylor,
00:44:58 to some extent we buried the lead on this podcast.
00:45:01 There's not a person that's ever worn a flying WV logo at any point in their life
00:45:06 that doesn't wanna hear Zach Frazier walk them through what his thought process was
00:45:11 at Baylor, we'll get to that in a minute.
00:45:12 Finally, before we do, the morning after that soul crushing defeat at Houston.
00:45:20 You and Garrett found a way, and this just says so
00:45:24 much about what you are, right, Ray?
00:45:26 Outside the lines, just what a dude you are.
00:45:30 You and Garrett took it upon yourselves to drag yourselves out,
00:45:35 head to the cancer center, and visit that patient just hours
00:45:40 after losing on the road halfway across the country in that fashion to Houston.
00:45:45 Talk about what that meant to you guys,
00:45:47 what that was all about, how that visit went.
00:45:50 >> Yeah, we kind of had already planned on going and
00:45:59 visiting Katie, but we didn't plan on losing that game,
00:46:04 especially in that fashion.
00:46:06 But just kind of puts everything into perspective because we just had that
00:46:14 terrible loss and to lose in that way was, I mean, it hurts so bad.
00:46:20 But really put things into perspective because if that's the worst thing I'm
00:46:27 dealing with, there's some people that are dealing with a lot worse things than I am.
00:46:33 So I think, I mean, really, it kind of helped me out probably more than her.
00:46:41 So I mean, yeah, yeah.
00:46:44 >> That's powerful, hats off to you, brother.
00:46:48 That says as much or more than, as exceptional as what you were on the field.
00:46:55 That says so much about you.
00:46:57 What we're trying to explain to people, all three of us on this podcast have
00:47:02 always been huge fans of you as a player, but as a person.
00:47:06 And any chance we get to talk about those off the field things, and
00:47:10 your dad and I spend a lot of time talking about that.
00:47:13 Which leads us to, okay, last game of the regular season,
00:47:18 final possession of the regular season.
00:47:21 We find ourselves in a dogfight at Baylor.
00:47:24 Turned out to be a tougher environment than what we maybe forecast or
00:47:29 expected, was a tough place to play that night.
00:47:31 Those that student section was into it behind the bench.
00:47:34 They were bringing it, right?
00:47:35 Made those plays on special teams, kept hanging around.
00:47:38 We found ourselves trailing 31 to 27, less than a minute to go.
00:47:44 We get the ball.
00:47:46 Now I can give you my perspective of what happened afterwards.
00:47:49 Like, I remember watching you work your way to the sidelines,
00:47:52 which I want you to talk about here in a minute.
00:47:54 I couldn't believe what I was watching.
00:47:56 But when I got in the locker room after the game, after the celebration,
00:48:00 I saw the O-line gathered in the training room.
00:48:03 And that's when I knew this was something bad.
00:48:08 Because again, here's your brothers reacting to the news they just got
00:48:14 about what you were dealing with.
00:48:15 And I saw that, and then I came over, and on my way out of the locker room,
00:48:20 I had to run back down the tunnel before coming back.
00:48:22 And that's when I passed your dad.
00:48:25 And it was just his eyes crossed my eyes, and that's all I needed to see.
00:48:29 So that night, after one of the most exceptional, remarkable,
00:48:34 amazing careers in the history of West Virginia football,
00:48:37 I think one of the things that makes you unique on the final play of your career,
00:48:43 the legacy that people 50 years from now will still be talking about was truly born.
00:48:48 You entered a stratosphere.
00:48:50 You became a folk legend when that happened.
00:48:52 I mean, you really did.
00:48:54 And we've told Owen what he did against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl,
00:48:59 in that environment, and he gave that speech.
00:49:01 He's a folk legend.
00:49:02 I mean, it's a very short list of West Virginia football folk legends, right?
00:49:07 And we have two of them gracing our presence right on this one podcast.
00:49:11 I want you to walk us through.
00:49:13 So that happens.
00:49:15 The first play of the drive, we're down 31-27, no timeouts left,
00:49:19 less than a minute to go.
00:49:21 From our sideline, we're going right to left on the field, deep in our own territory.
00:49:25 We run the tunnel screen to Huddy.
00:49:28 Huddy's about to get tackled well short of the first now marker,
00:49:32 until you pick him up, carry him across the marker.
00:49:36 The defensive lineman from Baylor comes in behind.
00:49:39 That's when this injury takes place.
00:49:41 Take it from there.
00:49:42 Walk us through everything that was going through your mind when it happened,
00:49:47 as you made your way off the field.
00:49:49 Go ahead.
00:49:50 >> Yeah, so yeah, the first play of the drive was a tunnel screen to the left.
00:49:57 Like you said, it was a board out front, so I was sliding to the left.
00:50:05 I had a guy in my gap, and I kind of set towards him and kind of swatted him by.
00:50:12 But he didn't really bite on it too much.
00:50:15 I think he kind of saw the screen.
00:50:18 But I just tried to get him up the field as much as I could.
00:50:21 And then when I went to release,
00:50:25 normally I have first backer in the box.
00:50:28 And it was kind of a weird situation, kind of like the first,
00:50:33 or it never really had happened to me before.
00:50:35 But when I released out there, there was no one really there for me to get.
00:50:39 But Huddy was kind of like right in front of me.
00:50:42 So I kind of just grabbed him.
00:50:48 It's something that I've done a lot of times.
00:50:53 I've pushed the pile and stuff like that all the time.
00:50:57 But I started pushing him, grabbed him.
00:51:04 And then that D-line that I hit up the field that didn't really bite on it,
00:51:09 he retraced.
00:51:11 And it was kind of, I mean, I don't really know what I would have done in his
00:51:18 situation, cuz I'm holding the guy with the ball.
00:51:21 And he can't go around me, so he kind of ended up tackling me,
00:51:26 wrapped his hands around my waist and dropped down kind of right on the side
00:51:31 of my leg.
00:51:32 And then I let go of Huddy as that happened, just kind of pushing forward.
00:51:39 But then he came down on the side of my leg, and
00:51:47 I just knew something wasn't quite right.
00:51:49 And I kind of felt like my leg, I felt like my foot,
00:51:54 I didn't hear the snap or anything, but
00:51:58 I felt like my foot was kind of turned.
00:52:02 And I just kind of had a lot of pain in that side of the leg.
00:52:10 And kind of my thoughts on two minute, right when the play's over,
00:52:15 I have to run to the ball.
00:52:17 I have to be the first one to the ball, cuz the clock's running.
00:52:23 So, kind of, I started screaming and
00:52:29 I knew I wasn't gonna be able to run another play.
00:52:35 So I knew I had to get off the field too, cuz we didn't have any timeouts.
00:52:41 And even then, it's still a two minute situation, so
00:52:45 you don't wanna get that ten second runoff.
00:52:47 So I just kind of rolled over and started.
00:52:55 I didn't really wanna put any weight on that leg cuz it wasn't feeling great.
00:53:00 But yeah, I was just screaming and
00:53:06 bear crawling off the field.
00:53:08 And then the ref was yelling at me to get down, so
00:53:13 then I kind of hurried up a little bit and got up to my feet.
00:53:17 And I don't know, I just got off the field.
00:53:20 And then once I got off the field, the trainers came up to me and
00:53:26 our team doctor came up to me.
00:53:28 And I kind of threw my helmet off and just laid on the ground.
00:53:35 And he started working on me and he was like, where does it hurt?
00:53:40 I was like, everywhere.
00:53:41 I don't know what happened.
00:53:45 And then he started poking on my leg and
00:53:49 that's kind of when I knew something wasn't good.
00:53:54 Cuz he kind of put his hands right on my leg and
00:53:59 I could kind of hear it crunch and feel it move back and forth.
00:54:05 And that's when my heart kind of sank a little bit.
00:54:09 But, and then the doctor kind of looked up at me like once he started
00:54:14 pressing on it, cuz he could feel it too.
00:54:18 And I was like, is it all right?
00:54:21 And he just didn't say anything, but then ended up going on the,
00:54:27 like on the gator back to the x-ray room.
00:54:34 And they kind of had like a, it was kind of weird, it was like an iPad, but
00:54:40 it was like an x-ray machine.
00:54:42 So they kind of like were taking pictures of it and
00:54:45 couldn't really get a good picture at first, like two times.
00:54:49 Then they got it and I kept asking, is it okay?
00:54:52 Is it all right?
00:54:53 And the doctor's like, no, you have a broken fibula.
00:55:00 And I don't know, I just kind of was like getting shocked a little bit.
00:55:05 And then I asked them like, how long is the recovery gonna be and
00:55:11 stuff like that.
00:55:12 And then of course, sometime in there they told us that they scored and
00:55:17 then they told me that they won the game.
00:55:19 And that was kind of a relief too, but
00:55:24 I was kind of, my mind was racing all over the place.
00:55:30 >> Stand on the part where you hit the ground, you felt the pain.
00:55:34 On a scale of one to ten, how bad did that hurt?
00:55:38 And did you ever consider, man, I can't move, I gotta lay here.
00:55:42 You were so hell bent on getting off the field to avoid that runoff.
00:55:46 Talk us through that part of it.
00:55:48 That's the sacrifice you made, because guess what, Zach?
00:55:51 If you laid there and we had that runoff, we don't win that game.
00:55:56 >> Yeah, kind of, I don't know, it all happened so fast.
00:56:03 It's kind of just, once it happened, I just made a decision,
00:56:09 I'm not gonna be able to run another play.
00:56:12 I'm not gonna be able to put any weight on this.
00:56:14 And that's kind of just as I was rolling over.
00:56:17 And right away I was like, I gotta get off the field.
00:56:23 >> Right away, instinctively?
00:56:26 >> Yeah, I did it so fast, I just knew that if I couldn't get on the ball,
00:56:33 I gotta get off the field.
00:56:34 Because we had kind of a similar situation actually in the Houston game,
00:56:41 where one of our guys went down and almost cost us some time.
00:56:45 We ended up scoring anyways, but you know how that ended.
00:56:48 But I just, I don't know, I just knew I had to get off the field.
00:56:55 But at the same time, people would say,
00:57:00 I was the reason we won the game and stuff,
00:57:06 which I think I probably did save some time and
00:57:10 maybe help the drive with just momentum.
00:57:13 Cuz there's four plays later, everyone, and we scored.
00:57:17 But at the same time, you have Yates coming in and
00:57:25 he hadn't taken a snap.
00:57:27 Last snap he took was at pregame, and he had played some guard.
00:57:34 But he came in and had four perfect snaps, made all the calls.
00:57:40 And if he goes in there and has a bad snap or something,
00:57:46 snaps it over his head or something like that, that would never have happened.
00:57:50 And then Garrett too, marched right down the field.
00:57:54 I feel like Garrett's one of the best two-minute quarterbacks we have,
00:57:58 cuz of the threat of him running.
00:58:01 If everyone drops back and covers all our receivers,
00:58:05 he's just gonna take off and it's gonna be a huge game.
00:58:08 So without those guys, we probably wouldn't have won the game if
00:58:14 they didn't execute on those last four plays.
00:58:19 But I just kinda, I think I gave us a little bit better of a chance,
00:58:26 but I think they won the game.
00:58:29 >> So you carry him past the sticks, that stops the clock.
00:58:33 If you don't do that, the clock doesn't stop there.
00:58:36 Then you got off the field to avoid the runoff.
00:58:40 And yet, when we ask you to relive this story, Ray, I have two sons.
00:58:46 I can't imagine the pride that you're swelling with to sit there and
00:58:51 hear Zach be as deferential as he is, given the platform and
00:58:55 opportunity to tell that story.
00:58:57 And what's he do, but he talks about his teammates.
00:59:00 He talks about Brandon coming in, next man up doing his job.
00:59:03 He talks about Garrett being that, that's what makes Zach, Zach.
00:59:07 When I talk to you there tonight, Ray, again, we're gonna have to put on the phone.
00:59:10 We're talking for two hours sometimes, right?
00:59:12 But one of the things I mentioned to you, one of the things after the Super Bowl
00:59:16 that was talked about the morning after was the 49ers didn't understand the
00:59:20 difference in the overtime rules in the postseason versus the regular season.
00:59:24 And they were blaming Kyle Shanahan, their head coach, for not explaining it to him.
00:59:28 And I was like, do you think Zach Frazier would need his head coach to explain that
00:59:31 to him?
00:59:32 Absolutely not, absolutely not.
00:59:35 He's a cut apart, a different breed.
00:59:38 Ray, what are your thoughts when you hear Zach talk about that?
00:59:41 >> Well, I mean, to me, that's who he is, that's who he's always been.
00:59:45 I mean, I told him a long time ago, I like coaching offense a lot when I did coach,
00:59:51 because there are no stats other than winning, and that's the one that matters.
00:59:56 And that's all that ever is going to matter to him.
00:59:59 He's always gonna be about his teammates.
01:00:00 But one of the things that stood out to me, and I know you mentioned earlier about
01:00:05 when everything kinda how it transpired with coming down the locker and
01:00:09 you passed me, and we all went down there as a family, that was hard, that was tough.
01:00:15 I mean, but the one thing that will always stick out in my mind,
01:00:21 and I'll always remember just as clear as day,
01:00:25 is when I saw the way all of his teammates, offense, defense,
01:00:30 didn't matter, how, like you said, I mean, they just won a game.
01:00:36 An awesome win, but they were genuinely concerned about his well-being and
01:00:41 the amount of respect that they had for him, and you earned that.
01:00:47 And that's one of the things that I think that's above any award that anybody
01:00:52 could ever have, you have to respect your teammates.
01:00:55 When you finish and it's all said and done, and that's how he left it.
01:00:59 And I mean, that's what I just, I know how his teammates viewed him and
01:01:04 that was something I was just kinda standing there just watching it,
01:01:09 it was something to see.
01:01:11 >> That's awesome.
01:01:12 Zach, you come from a group of guys who, I think back to, and
01:01:16 it just speaks to how tight you really are.
01:01:19 I'm trying to remember, what game was it that Wyatt got poked in the eye?
01:01:23 What game was that?
01:01:25 Do you remember?
01:01:26 >> TCU.
01:01:26 >> TCU, thank you.
01:01:27 Well, I remember coming in at halftime, and
01:01:30 he's in there worried about whether he can go or not.
01:01:34 I mean, he's worried to death if he's gonna play another snap.
01:01:37 And are you guys being all warm and fuzzy?
01:01:39 Don't worry, no, no, you're making fun of him.
01:01:41 You guys were around him making fun of him, right?
01:01:43 >> Yeah.
01:01:44 >> I was sitting there in stitches just watching, he's like, and
01:01:47 he's concussing you back.
01:01:49 I mean, I was sitting there thinking, that group is absolutely inseparable.
01:01:54 So when that happened to you, and I saw Doug, and I saw Wyatt,
01:02:00 and the whole crew just huddled, I was thinking to myself,
01:02:05 I was choked up for a pasture day.
01:02:08 So let's close with this.
01:02:10 What was that reception like in that dark, trying, difficult,
01:02:15 challenging, impossible time?
01:02:18 You received the news about that injury.
01:02:20 You understand you're about to start the next chapter of your life.
01:02:23 And I've said it on this podcast.
01:02:25 I've said it to your dad.
01:02:26 I've said it a million times.
01:02:27 Somebody's gonna draft you, not despite what happened to you with that injury,
01:02:32 but because of what happened to you.
01:02:35 That is one of the many things that will make you shine,
01:02:38 how you have responded, that injury.
01:02:42 Walk us through what it was like when your buddies on the O-line,
01:02:48 some of the guys from the defense, your teammates, all those guys that you went
01:02:51 to battle with, and bled, and sweat, and cried together with for four years,
01:02:56 came in there to support you.
01:02:59 >> Yeah, I guess I would say, I guess that was probably always my
01:03:06 worst fear is getting a bad injury like that.
01:03:11 And kind of like, yeah, that's probably always been my worst fears.
01:03:20 I just don't wanna ever be hurt and then not be able to play.
01:03:24 And then, so for that to happen in the last game,
01:03:29 it was, my mind was kind of racing everywhere.
01:03:33 But kind of when I saw all my teammates in there,
01:03:39 how concerned and how much that they cared about me and
01:03:46 all my family was there and stuff like that.
01:03:53 And kind of like, I wasn't as upset cuz they were all feeling bad for me.
01:04:02 So how could I, I wasn't getting, no, I kind of felt bad for
01:04:07 all of them that they were feeling upset and stuff like that.
01:04:13 But kind of, yeah, I'll change the, I don't know.
01:04:18 It was tough for me to see all of them react like that.
01:04:24 And I thought, like I said, I thought it would be like the end of the world,
01:04:28 but it's really not.
01:04:30 And I've kind of done well with rehab and I'm on a,
01:04:37 and actually my injury, they said I was lucky and
01:04:42 said that it was kind of like the best case.
01:04:44 If I had to have that injury, it was the best case is just the bone that I would
01:04:50 heal and I didn't do any ligament damage, which if I did that,
01:04:55 that would be a lot worse.
01:04:57 So it wasn't the end of the world and
01:05:01 just having everyone's support was really nice.
01:05:08 Another crazy thing before we got or went down for pregame meal,
01:05:15 we were watching the Michigan Ohio State game and
01:05:21 they had one of their guards went down and snapped his leg and got carted off.
01:05:26 And that made me a little sick.
01:05:29 I was like, wow, that would be like my worst fear.
01:05:33 And I kind of went down and ate pregame meal and
01:05:37 I didn't really, I don't know, I didn't have the best stomach for it.
01:05:41 But it was kind of crazy.
01:05:42 >> That's why, that's in the rear view, that is behind you.
01:05:46 And just like Owen said, the station, the point that you're at in your life right
01:05:50 now, what's the old saying?
01:05:52 It gets darkest right before the light, while the light is coming.
01:05:55 I mean, the light is a common and
01:05:58 Mountaineer Nation is about to have a brand new favorite team.
01:06:01 And they're gonna follow you to the end of the world.
01:06:04 And you're gonna have a long flourishing career at the next level.
01:06:07 We have zero doubt that make it hell, you're gonna be great.
01:06:12 You're gonna be a great pro football player,
01:06:14 just like you've been a great everything you ever tried to do.
01:06:17 Great teammate, great friend, great son, great center.
01:06:21 You're gonna be a great pro football player.
01:06:22 That's going to happen.
01:06:23 If Zach Frazier was a stock, I'd be buying it big right now, guys.
01:06:29 I mean, I'd be buying it big.
01:06:30 I would have bought it- >> Jokes on you, Jed.
01:06:32 Jed, jokes on you.
01:06:33 Owen and I stocked up on Zach Frazier stock like two years ago.
01:06:37 >> There you go.
01:06:37 >> I mean, we've been sitting on this gold mine.
01:06:41 Real quick- >> So we have to decide one more, hey,
01:06:43 Wes, Zach.
01:06:45 Okay, there's Paul Bunyan and there's the Blue Hawks.
01:06:48 We can't decide which are you and which is Owen, right?
01:06:50 The West Virginia Folkloric is here, right?
01:06:53 >> Listen, Zach, you're dating yourself with that reference there a little bit,
01:06:56 all right, Jed?
01:06:56 >> Yeah, yeah, don't even worry about it, bud.
01:06:59 >> My dad would tell me the same thing.
01:07:01 >> Here's, and we appreciate the hell out of you guys for the time.
01:07:05 And just real quick, Zach, before we go, everything that Jed just said there,
01:07:08 we completely echo.
01:07:09 And we love the attitude and the outlook in life.
01:07:12 And man, no matter what you end up doing for the next 10 years, for
01:07:16 the next 50 years, when you have that attitude, that outlook,
01:07:19 it's always gonna serve you well.
01:07:20 You're always gonna be successful.
01:07:22 We love hearing that.
01:07:24 I just wanted to ask you real quick before I do our sign off here,
01:07:28 about that legacy thing, the cult hero thing, the folk hero thing, right?
01:07:32 Like, your legend that you leave, I know that's probably a hard,
01:07:37 it's a really hard thing to discuss in your early 20s, right?
01:07:40 Think about your legacy.
01:07:41 But is that something that has crossed your mind?
01:07:45 I know you've dealt with the injury in this.
01:07:47 I know this whirlwind process of preparing for the draft and your pro days and
01:07:50 the combine and the senior bowl, and then the draft.
01:07:53 And then you'll go to your new city and you'll have rookie mini camp and OTAs.
01:07:57 It's like your head spinning the whole time.
01:08:00 But have you thought about that legacy at all,
01:08:04 that final play against Baylor, obviously, and ending it that way?
01:08:08 We talk about all the time, I don't know if you're aware of this, but
01:08:11 when you got onto campus, WVU was averaging 73 yards per game rushing.
01:08:16 I mean, it was like, can we get 100 yards on the ground?
01:08:19 That was like the, can Letty Brown rush for 100 yards?
01:08:22 Please God, to now over 230 a game, the best rushing attack in power five.
01:08:28 I mean, what you did over your four years,
01:08:32 capped by this season of getting the program turned around.
01:08:35 With the whipped cream of the cherry on top of that folk hero type ending down in
01:08:40 Baylor, has that been something, again, I know this is really hard to ask somebody
01:08:44 in your early 20s, but have you thought about that legacy at all?
01:08:51 >> Yeah, that is a tough.
01:08:54 >> I know, I kind of put you on the spot there, I apologize.
01:08:56 >> Yeah, kind of the way I would say,
01:09:02 I try not to, I never wanna get
01:09:07 complacent or give with where I'm at.
01:09:14 >> Satisfied, you never wanna be satisfied, yeah.
01:09:21 >> Yeah, so I've kind of went through college and
01:09:25 I've gotten a good bit of awards and stuff like that.
01:09:31 But I kind of just, I don't let that kind of get to me,
01:09:37 if that makes sense, I kind of like just,
01:09:41 not push them off to the side, but
01:09:45 obviously, thank the Lord for being in that position.
01:09:51 And thankful for the awards and thankful for the position that I'm in.
01:09:57 But I just try to, one day when I'm done playing football,
01:10:01 I feel like I'll look back on everything and probably be pretty proud.
01:10:07 But I try not to, I feel like I just have,
01:10:13 I wanna go a lot further and I wanna,
01:10:18 big goals I don't ever wanna just be satisfied.
01:10:24 So, but yeah, I'm sure there'll be, whenever I'm done playing and
01:10:30 I'm sure I'll look back on everything that's happened and be pretty happy.
01:10:37 >> Well, young man, keep that tunnel vision,
01:10:40 because it's gonna take you places without a doubt.
01:10:42 You've got 1.8 million West Virginians and
01:10:46 a whole bunch of other alumni like me that are pulling for you.
01:10:50 So keep attacking that rehab, keep attacking every day, and
01:10:53 we're looking forward to seeing how this all plays out over the next couple months.
01:10:57 >> Thank you, I appreciate it.
01:10:58 >> Well, gentlemen, this has been a lot of fun.
01:11:01 We've kept you way too long.
01:11:02 So let me wrap this thing up for Zach and Ray Frazier and the best teammates in
01:11:08 the business, the signal caller Jed Drenning and the runaway beer truck Owen Schmidt.
01:11:11 I am Wesley Euler.
01:11:12 The one thing we ask of you as we wrap this up is to be an ear and
01:11:16 tell an ear about your new favorite WVU football podcast.
01:11:20 Take care, everybody.
01:11:21 We'll talk to you soon.
01:11:22 Get ready to find your new favorite NFL team, pardon me,
01:11:26 to root for here in a couple months wherever Zach lands.
01:11:29 Take care, we'll talk to you soon.
01:11:30 You've been in the gun.
01:11:31 [MUSIC]