There's a certain type of grit that represents WVU football.
It's not something that's always easy to describe, but you know it when you see it. It's the famous "hard edge" culture of Rich Rodriguez, the type of no-nonsense attitude and tireless work ethic that perfectly represents not just the program, but the state of West Virginia.
When you think of this culture that surrounds the Mountaineers at their best, few players embody it quite as well as former WVU center Zach Frazier. Part of that is due to Frazier being born and raised inside that culture, as he is an in-state native from the town of Fairmont. But another part of that is his contributions to the program, and how he played on the field – he started 46 games over his career, becoming a three-time All-Big 12 selection and two-time All-American before moving onto the NFL.
Last weekend, he played through an injury for the Steelers in what turned into a 29-24 win over the Lions that helped move his franchise one step closer to clinching their division and a playoff seed. When asked about his choice to continue playing while hurt, he gave an answer that further shows just why he exemplifies West Virginia culture and what it means to be a Mountaineer.
"I'll play through just about anything, as long as they let me. If they tell me there's a chance, I'm gonna play. I don't have to be 100% to play. No one ever is, really, at this point in the year, anyways," Frazier said.
Of course, WVU fans know Frazier is no stranger to toughing out an injury in a crucial situation. They'll remember when he suffered a broken leg on the final drive for the Mountaineers as they trailed against Baylor during the 2023 regular season finale. Frazier suffered the injury on the first play of the drive as he helped push wide receiver Hudson Clement forward for a first-down and then bear-crawled off the field to avoid a ten-second clock runoff for the Mountaineers on what would turn into a game-winning drive for West Virginia.