FAIRMONT, W.Va. — At 7:10 a.m. Wednesday, West Virginia University football’s Twitter account sent a tweet welcoming Zach Frazier.
Frazier, a 6-foot-3, 296-pound offensive lineman from nearby Fairmont Senior High School, was the first of the Mountaineers’ 2020 signees to sign his National Letter-of-Intent.
“The first minute you could send it is when I sent it,” Frazier said. “It feels great. I’m really excited. It’s been a dream of mine.”
Frazier, who played both sides of the line for the Polar Bears, is being brought in as a center.
He was first recruited by West Virginia under the previous coaching staff and Dana Holgorsen. When Neal Brown took over nearly a year ago, he and his staff continued to pursue Frazier.
“It’s very important for us in a state that has a low population and maybe not as many Power 5-type prospects as some other places that we keep those guys within our state,” Brown said.
Frazier is also a three-time Class AA-A state champion in wrestling.
Considered a 3-star prospect and the second-rated in-state 2020 recruit by Rivals, Frazier also held offers from Stanford, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Wake Forest and Marshall.
“I just got build really good relationships with the coaches and playing for your home state is definitely a huge advantage,” Frazier said.
Frazier’s addition continues a recently pipeline of Fairmont Senior players to Morgantown. A pair of Frazier’s former teammates at FSHS — defensive linemen Darius Stills and Dante Stills — recently earned first-team and second-team All-Big 12 Conference honors, respectively, for their play in Brown’s first season at WVU.
“They’ve been able to do great things and I hope to do some of the same things,” Frazier said. “I’ve talked to them and they’ve helped me out a lot.”
Frazier said he’s also gotten a chance to form relationships with members of the Mountaineers’ incoming 2020 class, including a player he’ll likely block for down the line — quarterback Garrett Greene from Tallahassee, Fla.
“Garrett’s great. When we’re on visits together, we talked a lot,” Frazier said. “We have a good relationship. He came in a day early to watch one of our playoff games, so that was cool.
“They’re all great. I like the guys in my class.”
Brown views Frazier as a newcomer that could make an immediate impact.
“When I watched him live and saw the pad level he played with and how he used his hands, it led me to believe he may be able to contribute early,” Brown said. “He has a really good football mind. How well he’ll transition is to be determined, but my hope is he’ll transition well and quickly.”