Frazier Talks About The Baylor Injury and the Play WVU Fans Will Always Remember
Zach Frazier would have gone down as one of the greatest players to ever don the West Virginia uniform even if he hadn’t had to do anything in his final game as a Mountaineer.
However, the events that transpired in the play that turned out to be his last one as a college student solidified his legacy.
With 1:14 left on the clock and no timeouts, the Mountaineers needed to get the ball down the field as soon as possible to close the gap with Baylor, 31–27. Immediately after the start, hardship struck.
On the opening play of the drive, Frazier suffered a leg injury that prevented him from continuing in the game. Since WVU was out of timeouts, if he had stayed down on the field, there would have been a 10-second runoff. Rather than running into the runoff, he limpingly made his way to the sideline, saving valuable time.
Frazier stopped the clock on that play as well by grabbing wide receiver Hudson Clement and tossing him toward the first down marker, giving the Mountaineers a new set of downs. Frazier saved anywhere from 20 to 25 seconds, and WVU needed every second of it between helping to pick up the first down and leaving the field after the injury. Four pieces of theater
In the Gun this week, Frazier explained the play in detail and gave credit to his teammates for putting together the winning drive.
“A tunnel screen served as the drive’s opening play. I was sliding to the left because it was a four-down front. I kind of stepped towards the guy who was in my gap and swatted him, but he didn’t really bite too hard. I attempted to move him as far up the field as I could, but I believe he kind of saw the screen. I usually have the first backer in the box when I go to release, so it was kind of strange and had never really happened to me before.
one truly available for me to obtain. However, Huddy was right in front of me, so I just grabbed him. The D-lineman I hit up the field didn’t really bite, so he retraced. Given that I’m holding the ball carrier and he can’t get around me, I’m not sure what I would have done in his circumstance. He finally tackled me, putting his hands around my waist and landing on the side of my leg. I released Huddy at that moment and shoved him ahead.
“I was aware that something was off. Not only did I not hear the snap, but I also felt as though my foot was turned, and I was in excruciating pain. I had to be the first player to the ball in two minutes, but I knew there would be no timeouts, so I had to leave the field to avoid losing the ten-second runoff. I just rolled over, not wanting to put any weight on that leg, and I was screaming and bear crawling off the field.
“After it happened, I just decided that I couldn’t run another play and that I had to leave the field if I wasn’t able to get on the ball. People will claim that I was the reason we prevailed in the game and other things, and I certainly did help the drive with momentum and possibly save some time. However, Brandon Yates is also entering the game. His most recent snap was during the pregame, when he entered the game, made all the calls, and had four flawless snaps. That drive would never have occurred if he had gone in there and snapped it over his head or had a bad snap. Garrett (Greene) followed.
That’s correct, this is just one more reason why, come April, offensive line coaches all over the league will be pounding the table for this guy. It takes a remarkable IQ and awareness to realize that even with a severe injury, he needs to leave the field. To top it all off, he had the opportunity to claim credit for his role in the game’s victory, but he chose not to. It concerns his fellow players. He rightfully gives those guys the credit. But in actuality, WVU loses the game if they don’t have those extra 20 to 25 seconds. Fans of the Mountaineers will always remember that play because it marked the tragic conclusion of an All-American career.
Fortunately, Frazier’s recuperation is going well, and he is “ahead of schedule.” Although the extent of his participation at the NFL Combine later this month is still unknown, it seems likely that he will be cleared to play sooner rather than later.
