One of the ultimate goals for every collegiate athlete is to show a constant improvement starting from freshman year until their senior season is over.
In wide receiver Demetrius Frazier’s case, he has shown the willingness to put in work to get better every season he’s been at Middle Tennessee. He earned the Most Improved Outside Wide Receiver award this spring to add to his Most Improved Wide Receiver award he earned after spring drills in 2014.
“He’s gotten a little bit better each year at receiver, and I think and I hope he’ll have a great year this year,” head coach Rick Stockstill said. “He looks really smooth and confident.”
The redshirt senior from Brunswick, Ga., has seen time in all 38 games he’s dressed at MT, and this year he’s projected to start on the outside for the Blue Raiders.
In order for the Middle Tennessee offense to have the same kind of firepower it did last year when wide receivers Richie James and Ed Batties became the first pair of receivers in MT history to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in the same season, someone will have to step up on the outside.
With four practices in the books this summer, it appears Frazier is doing everything he can to be the guy who steps in opposite of James to replace Batties, who in his senior season in 2015 caught 82 passes for 1,048 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“Personally, I think I’m getting better,” Frazier said. “We’re just trying to get better every day … I’m trying to be a leader and keep pushing everybody.”
A lot of Frazier’s improvements over the last four years have come from learning the wide receiver position more and more. When he came to Middle Tennessee, he was a defensive back who hadn’t played a lot of receiver in high school.
“When he first got here, he was a defensive back and we moved him to receiver the next year,” Stockstill said. “It’s kind of been a transition for him … but he’s a really, really smart football player.
“I didn’t think he was fast enough to be a corner but was quick enough to help us at receiver. He catches the ball, has good hands and has good ball skills.”
Now as he’s preparing for his last go-around as a Blue Raider, Frazier has the luxury of putting his maximum focus onto his play on the field. He graduated Saturday, becoming the first male in his family to earn a college degree.
“It feels good. It’s a great accomplishment, and I’m the first male in the family to do that. I love it,” he said. “I’m very focused on the season now. It feels good to get it out of the way so I can keep doing what the coaches tell me to do.”
In order to become a constant reliability for quarterback Brent Stockstill, Frazier said he just has to keep having confidence in his coaches and do what he’s done every season at MT: find a way to improve.
“I just have to keep getting better and do what coach Franklin tells me to do,” he said. “I have to be coachable and take every advantage of every opportunity.”
Season and single-game football tickets are on sale now. Visit the Middle Tennessee Athletics website and go to the Tickets page to purchase.
Fans will get the chance to meet football, volleyball and soccer players at the athletic department’s annual Fan Day Aug. 14 from 2-4 p.m. at Floyd Stadium. 2016 team posters, yard signs and schedule cards will also be available, and the Blue Raider Ticket Office will have a select-a-seat event to see what seats are still available for football season. Single-game and season tickets will be available. The event is totally free to attend.
