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Zach Frazier (born August 29, 2001) is an American professional football center for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers.
 Frazier during Steelers training camp in 2024 | |||||||
| No. 54 – Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Center | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | August 29, 2001 Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 310 lb (141 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Fairmont Senior (Fairmont) | ||||||
| College: | West Virginia (2020–2023) | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2024 / round: 2 / pick: 51 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2024 | |||||||
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Frazier was born in Fairmont, West Virginia.[1] He is related to several state champion wrestlers through his mother's side of the family while his father played football for the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons.[2] In addition to playing sports, Frazier excelled academically: he declared on his first day of kindergarten that he would win an award for having perfect grades throughout elementary school, accomplished that goal, and had a 4.5 grade-point average (GPA) with one semester left in high school.[2]
Frazier attended Fairmont Senior High School where he played football and was a wrestler; in football, he played two-ways and was thrice selected first-team All-Class AA while in wrestling, he won four consecutive heavyweight state championships.[3] He was named the 2019–20 Times West Virginian wrestler of the year after being the first in school history to win four wrestling championships and finished his high school career with a 159–2 record, the highest winning percentage in Marion County history.[4] He helped his school's football team reach the class championship three times in four years, winning it once it 2018.[5] He had 54 starts in his football career which set a team record, and was named as a senior the Stydahar Award winner as the best lineman in the state.[6] He committed to play college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, being ranked the second-best recruit in the state.[2][7]
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After an injury to Chase Behrndt, Frazier became West Virginia's starter at center in the first game of his true freshman season in 2020, being the first person to do so at the school in over 40 years.[8] He then shifted to guard when Behrndt returned and ultimately started all 10 games in the 2020 season.[8] He did not allow a sack in nine games and was named first-team Freshman All-American as well as honorable mention All-Big 12.[9][10] Off the field, he was named to the Big 12 Academic All-Rookie team.[10]
Frazier became West Virginia's starting center in 2021 and started every game at the position, appearing on every offensive snap in the season.[11] He was the team leader with 60 knockdown blocks and allowed just two sacks while being graded at 90% or higher in all but two games.[11] He was second-team All-Big 12, second-team All-American and first-team Academic All-Big 12.[10][12][13] He was also their nominee for Big 12 Athlete of the Year.[14] In 2022, Frazier started all 12 games, allowed only one sack, and was chosen first-team all-conference as he helped the team average 171.5 rushing yards per game while being their leader with 51 knockdown blocks.[15][16] He also repeated as a first-team Academic All-Big 12 honoree.[14]
Frazier entered the 2023 season as a preseason first-team All-American and member of the Lombardi Award watch list.[17] Midseason, he was selected as one of 16 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy.[18][19]
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| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+5⁄8 in (1.90 m) |
313 lb (142 kg) |
32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) |
10+7⁄8 in (0.28 m) | 5.26 s | 1.81 s | 3.00 s | 4.69 s | 7.85 s | 28.5 in (0.72 m) | 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) | 30 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[20][21] | ||||||||||||
Statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
2024 season
Frazier was selected in the second round with the 51st overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.[22] Frazier signed his four-year rookie contract with the Steelers on June 10.[23]
Originally, Frazier was named the backup to Nate Herbig at the center position. However, Herbig would be injured during the preseason and be placed on the injured reserve list, ending his season prematurely and thrusting Frazier into the Week 1 starting position.[24] He made his professional debut in Week 1's Steelers win over the Atlanta Falcons.[25] He would subsequently start the first six games of the season. As a rookie center, Frazier called multiple plays through his first six starts. During Week 6's 32-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Frazier was relieved by Ryan McCollum when a Raiders defender fell on Frazier's ankle during a block. Frazier did not suffer any major injury, but was ruled out ahead of Week 7's 37-15 victory over the New York Jets and was considered "week-to-week" on the Steelers' injury report until after their Week 9 bye.[26] He would return to the field on November 10 during a narrow 28-27 Steelers win over the Washington Commanders.[27]
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