DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Frazier packs punch for Sailors’ defense

The first 14 years of his life, Nick Frazier, living as he did in the civilized world, denied his primal soul.

There were hints of his aggression, which was sometimes vented toward his brothers in what passed as typical sibling roughhousing, as well as in junior high flag football games, when the capture of an opponent’s flag seemed an insufficient ending to the escalating violence of the play.

But that all changed the fall of his freshman year at Newport Harbor High, when the potential Ivy League science major tugged on his helmet, cinched up his pads, and began smashing into his fellow human beings with surprisingly positive consequences.

The sanctioned mayhem of football not only satiated his instinct, as well as his intellect, it supported the greater good of the team. In this confluence of circumstances, a middle linebacker was born.

“Once I got that first hit in practice,” Frazier recalled. “I thought to myself ‘Where has this been all my life.’ It was a feeling like no other. I played flag football my seventh- and eighth-grade year and, going into my first year of tackle football, I was not sure how I’d like it. But that first day of hitting got me hooked.”

Ever since, Frazier has made a habit of latching his fire-hydrant frame — now 5-foot-10, 211 pounds, with powerful legs barely longer than those of a bear cub — onto ballcarriers with surprising frequency.

As a junior last season, he led the Sailors with 118 tackles, despite not cracking the starting lineup until virtually the first month of the season had elapsed. He earned All-CIF Southern Section Division VI recognition and helped lead the Tars to the CIF Division VI crown as one of only two junior defensive starters.

This season, he has a team-leading 55 tackles, including 33 solo stops. The next best on the team are 27 and 16, respectively.

“He’s having a great year for us,” said Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley, who singled Frazier out after the unranked Sailors stunned Esperanza, then ranked No. 5 in the Pac-5 Division (formerly Division I), 21-13, in the Sunset League opener Friday night.

“He’s a tough guy with a lot of explosive strength from working hard in the weight room,” Brinkley said of the Daily Pilot Player of the Week. “He’s 5-10, but he can definitely strike you.”

Though the majority of Frazier’s tackles are unassisted, gravity is frequently a co-conspirator. Frazier’s almost lawnmower-high leverage allows him to lift blockers and ballcarriers at the point of impact. Once airborne, gravity helps bring his victims, and often the play, to a violent halt.

“He had one of the best hits I’ve ever seen,” said Brinkley, recalling the Sailors’ 24-0 nonleague win Oct. 6 at Mira Costa (the Tars’ third shutout of the campaign). “The center from Mira Costa tried to block him on a blitz and [Frazier] just launched the guy. It was unbelievable.”

Frazier smiles through his thick beard when reminded of the play, the type of bounty middle ‘backers hunt with predatory passion.

“It’s definitely a competition on our defense to be the guy who gets the biggest hit,” Frazier said. “The middle linebacker is supposed to be one of the [baddest guys] on the team and I enjoy being that person.

Intelligence is another attribute employed by Frazier, a serious student who is drawing recruiting interest from Ivy League schools.

“I’m not the biggest person for a linebacker, but I’m able to read the plays quickly, react, and get where I’m supposed to be.”

Frazier’s powerful legs also serve him well as the team’s punter and place-kicker. Brinkley said Frazier’s punting — he is averaging 35.6 yards per kick — is a consistent weapon in the battle for field position.

And he also plays, periodically, at fullback, particularly in goal-line situations, when he is deployed as a battering-ram lead blocker.

“My main thing is defense, but I love getting in there on offense, too,” said Frazier, whose younger brother Ben, a junior, is the starting tailback. “It’s just another chance to hit someone.”