PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – We've all had cell phone reception problems, where you can hear them, but they can't hear you. It's frustrating, you're trying to get something done and they can't hear you. Imagine that scenario as the Pittsburgh Steelers were calling to make you their second-round pick.
That was center Zach Frazier's dilemma on Friday night as he was so excited to see a 412 area code calling him. He answered the phone, heard what they were saying and they kept saying 'Zach are you there?'
Frazier described himself scrambling all over his uncle's house in West Virginia trying to find the strongest signal. It obviously worked out, but he was getting a feeling the Steelers would call as teams were making selection-by-selection in the second round.
"I keep pinching myself," Frazier said. "It doesn't quite feel real. It was unbelievable to hop in my truck and drive up here, not to have to get on a plane. When it hit me is when I drove through the tunnel and saw the city, it's like this is real. This is pretty cool."
Frazier's been here before, he played at Acrisure Stadium in 2022 for West Virginia. He's been to Steelers games, including Ben Roethlisberger's final home game against Cleveland a few years ago. He grew up a Dolphins fan, following after his father's favorite team, but he loves the NFL and is aware of the rich tradition of great centers here.
"There is definitely a high standard for that position," Frazier said Saturday. "That's just going to make me work that much harder to uphold that standard and keep that standard."
He thinks he'll bring a physical style from his days at West Virginia that will set the tone up front.
"I'm excited," Frazier said. "I think the pieces are there to have a good core group of guys for a long period of time. I think offensive line it's important to build chemistry with the guys next to you. That's how it was for me at West Virginia. We had the same group of guys for basically three years."
Part of the tour of the Steelers facility, he couldn't help but see all of the Pitt signage as they share the UPMC Rooney South Side facility. It didn't phase him, but he explained the oddity of Mountaineers fans.
"It's funny," Frazier said. "The people in West Virginia, they hate Pitt but love the Steelers. It's the weirdest thing. It's going to be special."
Handy hobby
Frazier confirmed when he has spare time, he likes to do wood-working projects. He said nothing huge, but significant. He's built end tables, desks, a shoe rack. The inspiration or motivation for building something is often out of love and finances.
"Whatever my wife wants that I don't want to buy," Frazier said.
