MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University center Zach Frazier was selected in the second round of today's NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
 
He was the 51st overall choice.
 
Frazier, a Fairmont, West Virginia, native and a graduate of Fairmont Senior High, becomes the 199^thMountaineer player taken in the NFL Draft and the fourth under coach Neal Brown. The others are Frazier's former Fairmont Senior teammate Dante Stills, Tony Fields II and Colton McKivitz.
 
Frazier becomes the first Mountaineer center selected since Rich Braham was picked in the third round by the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. However, Braham played offensive tackle at WVU.
 
Mike Compton was the last West Virginia center to be taken a year prior in 1993 by the Detroit Lions, but he was drafted as an offensive guard before switching back to center in the pros. Braham played one year for the Cardinals and 13 seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals while Compton played 12 seasons for the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars.
 
Frazier's college pedigree indicates he could also have a long and prosperous NFL career.
 
He was a two-time All-American, three-time All-Big 12 and three-time team captain for the Mountaineers. Frazier started 46 career games, including 37 straight, before suffering a broken leg during the winning drive against Baylor in the final game of the season.
 
He alertly hopped off the field to preserve enough time for West Virginia to score a touchdown with 23 seconds left to defeat the Bears 34-31.
 
The center paved the way for West Virginia to rank third in the country in rushing by averaging 228.9 yards per game. He did not allow a sack and the man he was blocking only pressured the quarterback six times for the entire season. 
 
He once had a streak of 17 straight games without allowing a sack and only gave up one during his final two seasons and just four for his entire career at WVU. He was named WVU's Offensive Lineman of the Week 16 times during his four-year career.
 
Off the field, Frazier was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 Conference, a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, a first team Academic All-American and a Jason Witten Man of the Year semifinalist. 
 
He was also a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, presented to college football's most outstanding student-athlete, and attended the National Football Foundation Awards ceremony in Las Vegas last December.