Wisconsin Profile:
Name: Travis Frederick
Height: 6' - 4"
Weight: 338 lbs.
Class: Redshirt Junior
Hometown: Sharon, WI
Date of Birth: 1/1/1991 (22 years old)
High School: Big Foot HS
Season Summaries:
2012 RJr. Year: First Team All-Big Ten (Media), Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (Coaches), Academic All-Big Ten. Started all 14 games at Center for the Badgers, including his second Rose Bowl appearance, this time vs. Stanford. Made the switch over from playing Left Guard in 2011. Helped continue to pave the way for RB Montee Ball who is the all time FBS leader in Touchdowns. The Badgers finished with over 3300 yards rushing on the year, with over 1900 going to Ball.
2011 RSo. Year: Consensus Second Team All-Big Ten at Left Guard for Wisconsin. Started all 13 games at Left Guard including the Rose Bowl vs. Oregon. Wisconsin gained near 3300 yards rushing on the season, and Frederick helped protect Russell Wilson, and helped an OL that only allowed 1.79 sacks/gm.
2010 RS Season: N/A
2009 Fr. Year: Played in 5 games and had 4 starts (2 at Center & 2 at Left Guard). Became the first true freshman in school history to start a season opener on the offensive line for Wisconsin when they played Northern Illinois on 9/5/09.
2012 RJr. Year Highlights (#72 playing Center):
2011 RSo. Year Highlights (#72 playing Left Guard):
Strengths (+):
+ Stout at the point of attack with a tremendous anchoring ability, carries weight well and loves to use it
+ Old school player, will man you up and look to dominate you one on one
+ Outstanding punch and upper body leverage
+ Clearly understands power blocking schemes from Guard to Guard
+ Consistently shows knack for walling off defenders to form running lanes
+ Showed versatility as a LG and C his final two years in Madison
+ Smart kid who transitioned to Center his RJr. year (computer engineering major)
+ Does well in pass pro, rarely overextends or chases
+ Extremely well coached at Wisconsin, the Badger OL pride themselves on running the ball and being dominant, they also sport one of the most extensive alumni fraternities in the NFL
+ Shows natural teamwork skills on combo and scoop blocks, good off the transfer to 2nd level
Negatives (-):
- Not exceptionally fleet of foot, better in a phone booth
- Pulls are average, struggles getting out in front and delivering a lead block ahead of the ball carrier
- Likely limited to C or possibly RG in the NFL, not overly athletic at all
- Shows decent 2nd level ability, but will likely struggle early if asked to block NFL Linebackers and Strong Safeties who are much faster and explosive than the Big 10
NFL Analysis:
It was a relatively weak Center class in 2013 until Frederick decided to enter early. Following a long line of Wisconsin linemen (yes, it's cliche but it's true) such as G/C Peter Konz (2012, 2nd Rd. - Falcons), G Kevin Zeitler (2012, 1st Rd. - Bengals), T Gabe Carimi (2011, 1st Rd. - Bears), G John Moffitt (2011, 3rd Rd. - Seahawks), C Bill Nagy (2011, 7th Rd. - Cowboys, now Lions), T Joe Thomas (2007, 1st Rd. - Browns) and G Craig Urbik (2009, 3rd Rd. - Steelers, now Bills) Frederick is continuing the chain as Wisconsin "churns" out another solid mauler. Frederick, with his smarts, and straight ahead physical nature, will no doubt be a plug and play center for a team in the Power Blocking Scheme. He also has a full Big 10 season as a LG, but his athletic ability is somewhat limited, so it seems likely he'll fill time immediately at Center and possibly backup at Guard in the NFL.
Outlook as a Raider:
Oakland and Reggie McKenzie seem very set with Stefan Wisniewski at Center. However, with the addition of Greg Olson and the re-introduction of the Power Blocking Scheme, an argument can be made that Wisniewski could be moved back to Left Guard, where he thrived in his rookie season (2011). The Raiders will most likely not get a look at drafting Guard until the high 4th Round where prospects such as Brian Winters and Alvin Bailey could still be available. 2nd Year players Tony Bergstrom and Lucas Nix are still there to plug in, but you wonder if they were brought in for the Knapp scheme only...can they transition to the PBS seamlessly? Frederick would definitely be an interesting pick for Oakland...who currently sit without a 2nd Round pick (where Frederick is projected)...a trade down and a gained 2nd Round pick will likely be necessary, but perhaps the Raiders might take a shot at him, if available, in the high 3rd. Regardless, he's a smart, physical inside player that should do nothing but improve the Raiders' run game in 2013 if drafted.
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| Yes folks, born and raised Wisconsin |
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