Frazier's Career Comes to a 'Bittersweet' Ending
The Mountaineers trailed by four with a 1:14 remaining in the game and were taking over at their own 20. On the first play of the drive, a screen to Hudson Clement appeared to be bottled up but center Zach Frazier got behind the Martinsburg native, picked him up and helped across the first down line. Frazier was visibly shaken up following the play and began to crawl off the field before he quickly limped to the sideline.
“This is how smart he is and how tough he is,” said West Virginia head coach Neal Brown. “He limps off because he knows that's a 10 second runoff… I think that speaks to his intelligence. how tough he is, and he's a great player.
The will of Frazier to pick his team up when they were down was evident when physically picking up his fellow West Virginian when he was surrounded by the enemy over the first down marker, stopping the clock and subsequently saving more time but also kept the Baylor defense on its heels.
Brandon Yates stepped in for the injured Frazier as quarterback Garrett Greene led the offense down the field, scoring five plays later with Greene connecting with freshman running back Jahiem White down the left sideline for the 29-yard touchdown pass to reclaim the Mountaineer lead and the victory.
The play will likely be Frazier’s last as a Mountaineer. Brown didn’t go into detail on his injury, only noting it as “significant lower leg injury” and he will miss the bowl game. Fortunately, it’s “not something that's going to be long term,” according to Brown.
“I can’t say enough about Zack Frazier,” Brown said. “So appreciative of him and his family, and I think one play sums up who he is for his entire career. And I just hope our fan base really understands the young man from Fairmont, I think he's the best center in college football.”
Frazier has collected numerous accolades during his career. He was named a Freshman All-American by 247sports and ESPN, and a two time All-Big 12 Conference second team selection. He was named a Wuerffel Trophy finalist in November and is currently on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, given to the best center in college football.
“I plan on doing this for a long time,” Brown said. “I don't know if I'll ever coach a center that's better and I've had some good players, but I've never coached one better. So, just really fortunate. Kind of bittersweet, really. We win the game at the end, but he gets hurt. So, my level of excitement is subdued because of that.”
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