Two years ago, the Cavaliers played an undistinguished homecoming game against the Akron Zips. While Cavalier fans may remember Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub's breakout for five touchdowns in that game, they may have forgotten the quarterback on the other sideline, a young sophomore named Charlie Frye.
Frye almost pulled out an upset for the Zips, torching Virginia's secondary for 337 yards and scoring three touchdowns. As the Cavaliers play host to Akron this Saturday, Frye, now a senior, will again be the star of the Zips' offense. Virginia linebacker Darryl Blackstock remembers Frye.
"He really knew how to get rid of the ball -- where it had to go," Blackstock said. "He had good confidence out there."
The holder of 49 Akron passing records after just three seasons, the 6-foot-4-inch, 228-pound Frye enters this week's game with a 64.3 career completion percentage, a 138.24 career passing efficiency, 48 career touchdowns and 9,048 career yards. This season, after a slow game against Penn State, he bounced back last week against Middle Tennessee State, throwing for a whopping 399 yards.
Following in the tradition of recent Mid-American Conference quarterbacks Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, Josh Harris and Ben Roethisberger, Frye has the NFL in his sights. He is only 2,855 yards away from overtaking MAC career passing leader Byron Leftwich, and like the ex-Marshall quarterback, Frye is fleet-footed too. With a 4.6-second 40-yard dash and a good arm, Frye has what it takes to make coaches and NFL scouts drool.
"He's another big, tall quarterback," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "He can see the field. He's very versatile in how he plays. They move him out of the pocket quite a bit... He's got a versatile arm. He can throw at all different levels. He doesn't have to be set to throw the ball. He's very versatile in doing that, and he's accurate in making all the throws."
When asked about the comparisons to NFL quarterbacks and his statistical success, Frye just shrugs off the hype and attributes his achievements to his drive.
"Just to be mentioned along with those guys is an honor," Frye said. "It makes you feel good. Seeing all that hard work pay off, this being my fifth year now, is great. I put in all that work to see how I ended up. And still there's a lot of room for improvement."
After last season when his old coach, Lee Owens, left the school, Frye thought about leaving for the NFL. As all four of Akron's top leaders in receptions graduated, Frye would have to play with a whole group of new wideouts. NFL scouts pegged him as a third- or fourth-round pick, and Frye could have easily left. Despite it all, Frye said his dedication to his fellow teammates dragged him back for one more year.
"I wanted to finish off my senior year with the guys I came in with," Frye said. "All of us guys, we red-shirted together. We're all good friends and very close, and I wanted to win some games with them."
Frye's new head coach J.D. Brookhart has helped him improve, especially on the little things. Frye says Brookhart has focused his dedication to help his team win.
"You have to dive for the first down," Frye said. "I try to play every down like it will be my last down. I need to work on sliding. Coach tells me I have to slide more."
As the Cavaliers play Akron this weekend, Scott Stadium fans should get their second chance to see Charlie Frye in action. But weeks after this college football season ends, NFL coaches will probably play close attention to this one Zip.
Read More
'The Måns Dahlberg show' is kicking into gear, just in time for Virginia’s title chase
By Thomas Baxter | YesterdayHe's one man during the first few months of the season, quite another in the final two.
TILOCK: The real Virginia baseball just stood up
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers' chronic issues are dwindling, and underperforming stars are ascending.
Dietrich’s comeback clincher sends No. 7 seed men’s tennis to NCAA quarterfinals
By Margaret Piatos | 3 days agoFor the 18th time in 20 years, Virginia is headed to the quarterfinals.
