After hearing Zach Frazier’s draft night story, a local telecom company might want to sign him to an endorsement deal.
Can you hear me now? Certainly not the Pittsburgh Steelers when coach Mike Tomlin phoned the former West Virginia center to inform him the team had selected him in the second round Friday night.
“I could hear them, but they couldn’t hear me,” Frazier said Saturday morning after making the 75-minute drive from Morgantown to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “I was going all over the house trying to figure where I could get the best service.”
Chalk it up to poor cell reception at his uncle’s house, which was the site of Frazier’s family draft party.
“That threw me for a curveball,” Frazier said. “I was scrambling, but it was unbelievable feeling to have that weight lifted off my shoulder and the relief of knowing I got picked and picked here — right up the road.”
Frazier was projected to be drafted in the second round. He met with the Steelers during the predraft process, driving in from Morgantown for a top-30 interview, so he was aware he was on the team’s radar.
Duke’s Graham Barton was the first center drafted, going to Tampa Bay late in the first round. The Las Vegas Raiders selected Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson with the No. 44 overall selection. Seven picks later, the Steelers were on the clock.
“As the picks kept getting closer to Pittsburgh, I kept getting more and more excited because I knew that was a possible spot for me,” Frazier said.
Frazier played at Acrisure Stadium during a Backyard Brawl game against Pitt. He also was in the stands for Ben Roethlisberger’s final home game late in the 2021 season.
“It’s unbelievable to hop in my truck and drive up here and not have to get on a plane,” he said. “When it hit me is when I drove through the tunnel and saw the city.”
Frazier made the commute Saturday with his wife, parents and brother. More family members were expected to join him later at the Steelers’ draft party at Acrisure.
“They were ecstatic,” Frazier said. “They couldn’t have been any more happy.”
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.