Michigan picked up their fourth OL commitment of the 2024 class this past weekend and it was the least surprising one, Blake Frazier of Austin, TX, and Vandegrift HS. The son of former Michigan OL Steve Frazier, the legacy connection to the school and the fact that Frazier is an OL and Michigan is an OL factory always made this one seem like a slam dunk. The kid acknowledged as much in his commitment post saying "I guess we all knew this was coming", so it seems like we were all in the know on this one. Let's give Frazier a hello: 

 

GURU RATINGS

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'5/260	On3: 6'5.5/260	Rivals: 6'6/260	ESPN: 6'5/260
3*, 88, NR Ovr #38 OT, #79 TX	4*, 90, #275 Ovr #27 OT, #54 TX	4*, 5.9, #52 Ovr #4 OT, #7 TX	3*, 79, #81 Midlands #40 OT, #66 TX
3.75	4.02	4.65	3.80
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
4*, 0.9226, #207 Ovr #17 OT, #38 TX	4*, 90.25, #273 Ovr #21 OT, #48 TX	4*, #325/783 Ovr #37/81 C/Gs since 1990
4.23	4.03	4.10

Quite a bit of a range here, a 4 star in our composite but with lots of variability. Rivals is on one end of the spectrum, rating Frazier on the verge of 5* territory, while 247 is very meh, down in ho-hum 3* territory. ESPN doesn't bother and didn't even have a ranking for Frazier until a couple weeks ago, so take that one with a major grain of salt. On3 splits the difference between 247 and Rivals, and the consensus generally lands right around those two outlets. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: a lean, mean blocking machine]

 

SCOUTING

There aren't as many nationally-based scouting reports on Frazier as I'd like, particularly if the task is to investigate the ratings disparity, but we have enough scouting from our Michigan-affiliated outlets to get a good sense of Blake Frazier. The overriding opinion seems to be one of high upside, but also a pretty solid floor to build off of. It starts with the athleticism and we'll head over to Touch The Banner, who put up a scouting report before Frazier picked Michigan: 

Good length and lean athletic frame on which to build ... Good quickness on reach blocks in run game ... Shows athleticism to redirect and adjust on stunts and blitzes, as well as when comboing to second level in the run game

The athleticism trait pops up often when you read scouting reports of Frazier and we'll return to it later on in other ones. As a whole, Magnus thought Frazier was a bit more advanced as a pass-blocker than a run-blocker: 

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 ... He’s a better pass blocker than run blocker right now because he lacks bulk/strength

That last part is the most commonly cited downside to Frazier's profile right now, a tendency to get overpowered by strong and meaty defensive linemen because he is not bulked up yet. That can be fixed with time. A surprisingly detailed scouting summary at Fansided's GBMWolverine site echoed a lot of what TTB said on these bullet points: 

He’s a really good athlete. Quick and decisive off the snap, often surprising defenders with how fast he’s into them and making contact. Very explosive player ... Will need to bulk up obviously, as mentioned with the skinny legs, but also just need a bit more play strength as he sort of has to throw his entire frame into the block to generate movement

And if you believe the third time is the charm, here's Lucas Reimink at New Rivals with his own scouting report saying a lot of the same things: 

Frazier has a good frame, but he’s a little thin right now. He’ll need to bulk up and add weight for the next level, and with his frame he should be able to carry it well and retain his athleticism. Athletically, he is a good athlete overall with good acceleration, solid foot speed, good quickness/agility, and solid physical strength. 

Alright, so a bit on the lean side but superb athletically, with the hope being he can bulk up and retain said athleticism to have the ideal package. What else? What's his playing style like and how does the profile translate on the football field? 

There is a sense across these scouting reports that even if Frazier is a bit thin right now, he still plays nasty and tenacious, finishing plays when he has the opportunity. On3 didn't give us much overall, but a Chris Balas summary which included some insight from EJ Holland did give us a bit on this topic (emphasis mine): 

But in watching him, Frazier plays like a young Jon Jansen — great feet, relentless, nasty. He finishes blocks with a vengeance, moves extremely well for his size … and he’s probably underrated.

TTB said a similar thing, "shows some nastiness on finishes" and Reimink closed his overview section with "always looking to finish off his defender with a pancake whenever possible". Reviews of the mental processing are also generally good, and both TTB and Reimink praised the fundamentals/technique as a whole in both the run and passing game, just that his frame makes him better in pass protection right now. 

This leads us to the positional debate, always an area of emphasis when looking at an OL. Frazier is marketed as a tackle, but that rarely means much of anything. What say the experts? The general belief is that Frazier could play four spots on the line, with an outside possibility of center, but that tackle appears most likely. Right now he's mostly been playing RT, but multiple scouts mentioned an interest in seeing him play left as Frazier may have the chops to do it. TTB: 

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. 

The GBMWolverine scouting report said that tackle was also his most likely landing spot but guard could be an option: 

Ultimately, I think he will end up a tackle, but also does bend and leverage well enough that he could be a very high upside guard down the road.

Balas' piece closed by describing Frazier as a future starting RT, but it's unclear if that was based on anything or a reference to Frazier's current HS position. 

OFFERS

Michigan was always the favorite in Frazier's recruitment because of the family legacy, but that doesn't mean Sherrone Moore didn't have to put in work and fend off other suitors. The Texas schools, hometown UT-Austin as well as Texas A&M, had offers extended and were sniffing around. As was Clemson, one of the other big names in the Frazier recruitment. Beyond those three Frazier held gobs of offers from a variety of other schools including most of the big names, Florida, Oregon, LSU, PSU, Oklahoma, Auburn, FSU, Ole Miss, Miami, Nebraska, USC, TCU, you get the idea. He's a sought after prospect. 

HIGH SCHOOL

Vandegrift HS is a public school located in Austin, TX, though more on the outskirts of town. It is a pretty new school, not opening until 2009, and is named for Matthew Vandegrift, an Austin native who served in the US Marine Corps after graduating from Texas A&M and was killed in combat in Iraq in 2008. Since starting operations, Vandegrift has become a very good football program and if you want evidence, here is their record by year over the past five seasons: 12-1, 11-1, 10-3, 12-2, 14-2. With 2,700+ students, Vandegrift is a big school and compete in 6A Division 2. This past season saw Vandegrift make the championship game, losing out to DeSoto by a resounding score of 42-17, so it's reasonable for us to assume that Frazier is going to be playing in some more big time games this fall during his senior season. 

STATS

Is OL, no stats.

FAKE 40 TIME

Is OL, no 40 time.

VIDEO

Junior highlights: 

More on his Hudl page.

ETC

Also a shot put athlete, recording throws of 53-6, 52-11.5, and 50-4.5 in April 2022. As mentioned earlier, Michigan ties through his father. Steve was an IOL and Seth wanted to remind you of the recruiting profile and history of Steve's career: 

For those wondering, Steve Frazier (1995) is #41 on my list of IOL prospects. Steve was an undersized swingman in the late-'90s who filled in for various injured starters all over the OL. He played the most as a RS senior (3 games at C, 3 at RG, 2 at RT) in 1999, but kept getting deposited in Tom Brady's lap. 

A learning opportunity for those of us born the last year Steve played at Michigan! 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

The main thought I had coming away from reading through these scouting reports is that the sites considering Frazier a 3* feel off the mark to me. Frazier is somewhere between 6'5" and 6'6" with an athletic frame that still has quite a bit of ability to add weight, was starting as a junior for a successful HS football program in Texas, and has college football pedigree through his father. The overriding negative that the scouting reports had was related to the weight/strength, something that will almost certainly be cleaned up over time by Ben Herbert. When that's the main downside with a prospect, that's a good sign and also an indicator that anyone considering him a 3* is probably not quite accurate. Comparisons tossed out for Frazier by scouts included Karsen Barnhart, because of Frazier's potential versatility, and Ryan Hayes, who was a tall and lean tackle prospect (Hayes a tad taller and a bit lighter) with similar athleticism coming out of HS. 

Frazier's projection at Michigan is standard for an OL at this point, given the Wolverines' deep OL depth chart. He should enroll at the school, spend a few years adding weight, getting stronger, and studying up, and then sometime around year #3 or #4 he should emerge as a candidate to fill in somewhere on the line. Maybe at guard, but perhaps more likely at tackle. In a dream world for this recruiting class, I think Frazier is your pillar at RT and Andrew Sprague is your pillar at LT (also possible Roebuck is the RT and Frazier is a swingman). Given the intangibles and pedigree on Frazier, predicting him to emerge from the dogpile of OL prospects is not a bad bet and either way, he's a great culture take for the program. As Balas noted in his piece, mixing legacy kids who hate Ohio State from birth (Frazier, Oden) with Ohio kids for whom the rivalry is personal (Marshall, Hamilton, Roebuck, Hammond) in this class is a good way for Michigan to retain their fire and winning ways in The Game. For that reason alone, having Frazier on board is a win, and it also helps he's a very promising football player. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Frazier represents the fourth commitment to Michigan's 2024 OL class, a group that is filling up quickly. Luke Hamilton was the first one back after The Game, but the rest have jumped on board here in the spring. Ben Roebuck in late March, Andrew Sprague in early April, and now Frazier here in mid-April. None of these players project as an obvious center, so the Wolverines have zeroed in on Jake Guarnera from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL to fill that gap. Guarnera has set his commitment date for April 28 and Michigan holds the predictions currently, so prospect #5 could be joining the class in the very near future. 

The question then becomes how big this class will be. The Wolverines have taken smaller OL classes in both 2022 (3) and 2023 (3), so they can afford to go big, and with scholarship limits being more performative than substantive, who would say no if more 4* offensive linemen want to join your program? The most obvious name is 4* Max Anderson from Texas, who will officially visit in June. 4* OT Bennett Warren from Texas and 4* IOL DeAndre Carter from California are also names to watch. More pie in the sky is near-5* OT Brandon Baker from California, but that is an uphill battle. As you can probably tell, Michigan seems to be holding holding open slot #6 to an elite prospect and it may well be first come, first serve for that slot. We shall see. 

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Jadyn Davis	NC	4.7⬇	Smooth, accurate field general
RB	Jordan Marshall	OH	4.4⬆	Accelerates South-North
TE	Hogan Hansen	WA	4.1⬆⬆	Colston Loveland West
OT	Andrew Sprague	MO	4.3⬆⬆	Basketballin' grow-a-Long
OT	Blake Frazier	TX	4.1⬆	Athletic son of Steve
OT	Luke Hamilton	OH	4.0	Midwestern mauler
OT	Ben Roebuck	OH	3.8⬇⬇	Bigger Midwestern mauler
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Ted Hammond	OH	4.0⬆	Cincy build-a-bear
DT	Manuel Beigel	CT	3.6	Lengthy German via Choate
MLB	Mason Curtis	TN	4.2⬆	Long athlete moving up
S	Jacob Oden	MI	4.2	Tall son of coach

Our 2024 recruiting board lives here.