Name: Blake Frazier
High school: Austin (TX) Vandegrift
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 260 lbs.
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: 2024
Offers: Auburn, Baylor, California, Clemson, Colorado, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Houston, Kansas, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, UTSA, Vanderbilt
Commitment: Uncommitted
Notes: ESPN 3-star, #40 OT, #66 in TX . . . On3 4-star, #27 OT, #275 overall, #54 in TX . . . Rivals 4-star, #4 OT, #52 overall, #7 in TX . . . 247 Sports 4-star, #17 OT, #207 overall, #38 in TX . . . Son of former Michigan offensive lineman Steve Frazier
Hit the jump for more.
Stats: N/A
Strengths: Good length and lean athletic frame on which to build . . . Excellent pass sets from right tackle position . . . Keeps hands inside to maximize reach and keep defenders out of his chest . . . Very good at mirroring pass rushers . . . Great balance in pass set . . . Does not get overextended or reach too much . . . Good quickness on reach blocks in run game . . . Does a nice job of working butt around to playside . . . Shows athleticism to redirect and adjust on stunts and blitzes, as well as when comboing to second level in the run game . . . Very good leg drive and tenacity to finish plays . . . Shows some nastiness on finishes
Weaknesses: Physically gets overpowered at times . . . Lacks bulk/strength to stun defenders at point of attack . . . Can get shocked by initial contact
Overall: Frazier is a very good prospect whose abilities grew on me the more I watched. He's very well refined as a pass blocker, and I would be interested to see him play left tackle (he played right tackle as a junior in 2022) because he has the athleticism/footwork to be a good blindside protector. He's a better pass blocker than run blocker right now because he lacks bulk/strength; if I were to gauge his weight, I would have guessed he played his junior year at about 250-255 pounds, whereas he's listed in some places at 270 now. If he can add the necessary weight and strength through an S&C program, he could be an excellent guard or tackle at the next level.
Projection: Power Five all-conference starter. His pass blocking ability is outstanding, and his run blocking should improve as he adds weight. Linemen can be difficult to gauge, but ESPN ranking him as a 3-star is . . . highly questionable.
Reminds me of: Ryan Hayes. Some of his movements remind me of Hayes, who was a multi-year starter at Michigan. Hayes was a little taller (6'7") but around 250 pounds and played tight end in high school. Frazier is much more refined as a blocker than Hayes was coming out of high school, but they are similar athletes.
Highlights:
I tend to be skeptical when watching a Michigan legacy's film, because it's easy to get caught up in wanting a "Michigan Man" to have a son who's also outstanding. But by golly, Frazier won me over with his film.
ReplyDeleteI have two concerns about Frazier.
ReplyDeleteThe first is the same concern that I had about Jalen Mayfield, which turned out to be completely unfounded. He's nasty yes, but his picking on runts. Texas plays a good brand of high school football across the board, but the D linemen running out there against Frazier on film, are not quality. They looked like Marine City High School without the slants, quickness or technique.
Second, I'm not sure Frazier can get big enough to play the offensive line at Michigan. Harbaugh and Moore want huge, heavy maulers. Frazier is none of those things at this sitting. I'm not certain by a long shot that physically, he can get there.
But ... look at his tape. It just screams big athlete. Then just look at him standing there. Does he make you think of anybody? Perhaps some recently extraordinarily successful Michigan defensive end?
Just sayin.
If I'm Mike Elston, I'm all over this kid and his dad.
Roanman
As an aside, I have his dad right there next to Jack Long ... at the very top of my best Michigan offensive linemen of the last whatever years.
DeleteJake, Jack Long was a roller coaster repairman at Cedar Point in the 80's. Pretty sure, he made their Hall.
DeleteLank
DeleteWell, EJ says that he's playing in the top tier of Texas HS football. Cuz EJ, I looked again. Not seeing it. Still, one helluva big athlete.
DeleteRoanman
I don't know Texas football inside and out, but Vandegrift has an enrollment of 2,709 students (as of a few years ago). That would probably make it the biggest high school in Michigan, or at least close.
DeleteI like this post
ReplyDelete"physically gets overpowered at times" . . . . . . "can get shocked by initial contact"
ReplyDeleteOof. Lots of good, but these are concerns
- against HS dLine who are not D1 athletes - that should not be overlooked