Frazier-Ika A Matchup To Watch
MORGANTOWN -- It started with Gladiators against the Lions -- although that was before the lions were listed with an upper-case L.
The games in those days were played in a magnificent sports arena known as the Coliseum … not the one in Morgantown, but the one in ancient Rome.
No one listened to the roar of the crowd in those days, just the roar of one of the participants, and this is before they introduced a ball to the games people played, therefore obviously before the term "keep your eye on the ball" became a sports cliche.
On Thursday night, when Baylor comes to Mountaineer Field to play a 7 p.m. game on ESPN, if one wants entertainment at the highest level one can get it in football, it would be best to forget that cliche, for what transpires in the middle of the WVU offensive line and the BU defensive line will take you back to those clashes in ancient Rome.
WVU, as you are well aware, features an All-American center in Zach Frazier, who comes in at 6-foot-3 and 306 pounds. That is a sizeable obstacle for anyone across the line of scrimmage from him in any game, but in this game Frazier is the one fighting up in weight class.
Across from him is Siaki "Apu" Ika, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 358 pounds.
Not to say that's a load, but his shadow weight is six pounds.
And that battle in the middle is by far the most intriguing of the game and maybe of the season. It's a heavyweight championship fight, so much so that they ought to replace Bill Nevin on the stadium PA with Michael Buffer.
If he weren't gone, this was a game where Tony Caridi ought to be joined in the broadcast booth by Howard Cosell and the fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco.
"Head to head, it's strength on strength," WVU coach Neal Brown said.
Last year, as Baylor got the best of the Mountaineers in Waco, 45-20, Ika had three tackles with a pair of sacks.
"No. 62 is special," Brown noted. "He's not just a big guy. Oh, he's a monster of a man, but he's agile."
And he's improving. He's playing more plays this year than he could last year and anchors a defensive line that is among the nation's best in stopping the run game.
"I'm not sure anyone has had much success blocking him in one-on-one situations yet," Brown went on.
Texas, in WVU's last game, did a great job of stopping the Mountaineer running game and they have three big bodies up front.
Ika is only one, but "that one does what he does probably as well as anyone in the country," Brown said.
Ika, according to Brown, takes up two gaps, which allows Baylor to play a six-man box. That allows to do more with coverage and/or creative blitzes.
As good as Frazier is, make no doubt there will be schemes set up to give him help against a player who has been named to five pre-season All-America teams.
"You got to do some things schematically a little bit different than if you are up against a normal sized person," Brown said. "It's like he's just a big body. He can move. He moves laterally, uses his hands well and is playing with a good pad level."
In other words, he's a great player.
"When you have a great player, say a great receiver, you have do things a little different in coverage. It's the same with a great defensive lineman."
NOTES -- Good news, bad news: Cornerback Charles Wood, out since the 12th play of the season, is expected to miss this week's game but looks as though he will be ready to play next week at Texas Tech, but running back CJ Donaldson, one of four players who suffered a concussion last week, will miss this week's game as expected … Brown scrimmage three times with young players during the off-weak and found some who will get increased playing time … Brown did not spend a lot of time going over last year's loss to Baylor as Blake Shapen has taken over at QB this year and there is a different look to the team.