A year ago Zach Frazier was the “center of attention” for West Virginia’s football team for reasons that are obvious as he stands in line to become the starting center for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a rookie.
This year the “center of attention” for the WVU football team is Brandon Yates and, in a way, the reason is similar as he becomes the Mountaineers “center or attention” as he must fill the gaping void that Frazier leaves behind.
While both have accomplished much in their young careers, both have something to prove, Frazier being that he can anchor the Steelers offensive line and Yates that he can fill Frazier’s cleats and anchor the Mountaineer line, the group that holds the key to the offense.
Previously a guard and tackle for WVU, Yates became Frazier’s understudy last season and was tossed prematurely into the deepest of waters when Frazier suffered a broken leg in the final seconds of the last regular season game, meaning Yates had to start in his place in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory over North Carolina.
“I’m coming into my own at the position; just learning to strain in different positions and making important calls on the fly and making sure everybody is on the right people,” said Yates, a redshirt senior from Middletown, Del., but who was a highly regarded prospect out of Las Vegas’ Liberty Baptist High School. “I’m getting better at situations and now with live bullets going on and scrimmages it’s different than the spring,”
What it’s all about is not something off in the hazy future, as it was when he had to replace Frazier last December and fit himself in as the starting center in the spring.
“Then you were preparing for the spring game,” he said. “Now we’re preparing for the season. I’m taking everything seriously. I know Penn State and when fourth and one comes up I’ve got to do the important things, make the right calls.”
That was a large part of what made Frazier so unique that he can move right in at the NFL level. Frazier had all the physical skills and the right attitude, but he also had the dedication and intelligence to incorporate all the intricacies of making the proper calls at the line of scrimmage.
Yates has concentrated on both areas as he has readied himself for this season.
“Playing guard last year and then playing center, I knew physically what I needed to do to get better at this position,” he said.
“Since then, I’ve improved in the physical aspect. My weight room numbers went up, but I also made improvement in the mental aspects of the game.”
Center not only has the assignment designating before the snap on his shoulders, but he also has to make sure that the exchange with quarterback Garrett Greene is successful, and believe me, it’s harder than it looks and more important than you can imagine.
A bad exchange ruins the play, could offset the timing or even turn the ball over.
The emphasis on it has been a daily chore.
The offensive line is an experienced group of which much is expected. While the Mountaineers lost Frazier and guard Doug Nester, it returns six with extensive playing time, including tackle Wyatt Milum, who is being forecast as a potential All-American.
“We’re taking a lot of things from the NFL and different schools. We do our research. Right now we’re pushed really, really hard to do hard things better. That has improved everyone. I can the see guys who have been here a long time getting a lot better,” Yates said.
“We have a really strong bond and chemistry in that room. Every guy wants to not disappoint the guy next to him. You could see that on the field last year. We all gel together really well. We all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
“We play strong for one another, from left tackle to right tackle. Wyatt does a good job as the leader. Tomas (Rimac), he’s the most outspoken guy but he works extremely hard.
He’s a genetic freak. I can brag on Tomas all day long. Me? I stepped into my role. I have big shoes to fill, of course. Everybody talks about that, but I just go out and do the best I can do.
“Since Zach left, I feel I have stepped into that role and become a different kind of leader.”
Leadership develops over time and this is a new group, so they are trying to establish their pecking order.
“Everyone in the room is a leader,” Yates said. “We’re the oldest guys, so we all have to lead differently. We’re the biggest people on the field. We’re the giants on the field and we have to have high energy. People see us and say, ‘if they have high energy, why can’t we.’”
So it’s Yates and Milum and Rimac and Ja’Quay Hubbard and Nick Malone, high energy guys who normally find themself on the field from start to finish.
Yates, of course, is still learning at center but he has the advantage not only of Frazier being just 80 miles and a phone call away, but of another rookie who figures to start for the Steelers, No. 1 pick Troy Fautanu, who also played at Liberty High in Vegas.
“When I saw the pick coming up, it was pretty funny,” Yates recalled. “I was watching the draft and knew on that pick it was either going to be Frazier or my friend Troy. So I’m sitting there thinking I’m at least one for two … one of them is going to be picked.
“Troy got picked and I texted him congratulations. Then a little while later Frazier got picked and I’m thinking, ‘All right, I’m definitely a Steeler fan right now.
’ Then Beanie (Bishop, a free agent cornerback from WVU) went there. He came back and we talked about Zach and Troy. I talk to Troy about Frazier.
“I’m going to go up there soon and, whatever we do, I told Troy’s paying for it. He’s got that signing bonus.”
Yates understands the situation he faces and what he has to do to succeed.
“All I have to do is be me 100%,” he said. “I wanted to fit into that mold. I just want to be the best I can be, do the best I can do and be myself.
When I was being recruited a coach told me your main goal in college is to come in and be the best college player you can be and everything will fall in line.
“That’s all I wanted to do. I wanted to get better every day and smarter in the game of college football. Do that and everything will fall into line.”
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