WVU’s Brown thrilled Zach Frazier gets to live his dream

In 2023, defensive lineman Dante Stills was a sixth-round draft pick (No. 213 overall) of the Arizona Cardinals. He went on to have an excellent rookie season with the Cards, recording 47 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 15 games.

In 2024, it was another Polar Bear turned Mountaineer who was drafted, as offensive lineman Zach Frazier was selected in the second round (No. 51 overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He and Stills are the only two Fairmont Senior alums ever drafted by NFL teams, and they went in back-to-back years.

“To me, Zach should have been a first-round pick, but I’m biased and not in that league,” stated WVU’s head coach Neal Brown. “I think he’ll play for a long, long time. I know he’ll be a significant player in the NFL.

“For him to go to the Steelers, I’m so happy for him and his family,” continued West Virginia’s sixth-year coach. “I was with him (during Frazier’s draft-viewing party in Fairmont), and a number of our current players were also there. Dante and Darius (Stills) were there as well, and several of the mothers of our players were there. I had Dax (Brown’s elementary school-age son) with me, and we stayed off to the side. That allowed me to watch the whole thing, see Zach’s dream come true with all those people there for him.

“Not to be too sappy, but that moment brought back how much camaraderie there is in this game, and how proud we all were of him.”

Frazier became the first true freshman offensive lineman to start a game at WVU in over four decades when he took the field for the first offensive snap in the second contest of the 2020 campaign. He stayed in West Virginia’s starting lineup for 46 straight games until breaking his leg in the final moments of the 2023 regular-season finale at Baylor, an injury that kept Zach out of the lineup during the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Frazier was the only member of last season’s WVU football squad to be drafted by an NFL team this spring, but three others signed as undrafted free agents – offensive lineman Doug Nester with Minnesota, defensive back Beanie Bishop with Pittsburgh and wide receiver Devin Carter with Carolina. In addition, linebacker Lee Kpogba has been invited to tryouts with both Miami and the N.Y. Jets.

Between these rookies and the veterans, there are now 16 former Mountaineers currently on NFL preseason rosters.

“Whatever your dreams are or whatever you want to pursue, you can realize those dreams right here are West Virginia University,” stated Brown. “I was sitting Zach’s uncle’s house (watching the broadcast of the NFL draft) with his family and their friends. Dante was also there. He had a great rookie season, and Zach was the 51st pick of the draft. We have Pat McAfee (the former Mountaineer All-American kicker who served as a guest coach during the recent Gold-Blue Game), who has the most popular show in the entire country right now. For me, that just goes with what I tell our players all the time – you can achieve whatever you want to achieve right that here at West Virginia University.”