Fairmont Native Zach Frazier Takes Advantage of Rare Opportunity

zach frazier fairmont

With starting center Chase Behrndt suspended, true freshman Zach Frazier started the season opener against Eastern Kentucky. According to Greg Hunter of Blue Gold News, this was the first time a true freshman started on the Mountaineer offensive line in over 40 years.

Frazier went to high school at Fairmont Senior and joins a group of former Polar Bears on the Mountaineer roster, including the Stills brothers Darius and Dante as well as redshirt junior linebacker Jake Abbot and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Rhett Heston.

“Our defense is difficult to play against,” Brown said per WV Metro News. “He was partnered up and he went against Darius every day. So we had Fairmont on Fairmont every single day. If we kept score, Darius probably won. But Zach won his fair share. Day after day of going against Darius, I think he got better. So he gained some confidence.

“He was going to play today regardless of the suspensions. He wasn’t going to start. But I thought he handled it really well.”

Brown has placed an emphasis on getting the ground game on track this season. During the television broadcast of the opener, a clip was shown of Brown giving a very stern three-word response when asked if his rushing attack will be better than it was in 2019. “We better be.”

And it was, albeit against lesser competition. West Virginia had two running backs over 100 yards.

Frazier wasn’t the only former Polar Bear seeing their first game action as a Mountaineer. Rhett Heston had a tackle in his first time seeing the field in a Mountaineer uniform.

The pipeline from Fairmont Senior to Morgantown is alive and well.

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