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Frazzitta is set to start his freshman season at Mars Hill on Thursday. CONTRIBUTED
Editor’s Note: The Lake Oconee News will run a new series this fall called ‘Checking In,’ which will feature former Lake Country athletes that are playing sports at the collegiate level. This sequence of features will highlight their past accomplishments and give our readers an inside look at how they’re transitioning to life at the next level.
Dominic Frazzitta arrived at Mars Hill University early in July, ready to start his new journey.
Just a month later, the former Morgan County football player had finished his first college-level fall camp. Now, he is slated to be a reserve player for the Lions’ offensive line during the 2022 season.
Frazzitta recently spoke with the Lake Oconee News on how his transition from high school to college is going._
“I definitely liked being able to come up when there were just a few of the guys on the team here. Not the whole team, because I could get to know the coaches better,” Frazzitta said._ “It was a smaller group, and I could get to know the guys on the team better. That way I could build a better relationship with them. Now, I am meeting a lot of new faces, but I am liking it so far. It’s definitely a change from high school.”
Frazzitta was with the whole team during fall camp for three straight weeks, he said.
“There’s no free time. You’re with the guys 90 percent of the day” he added. “You wake up, go to breakfast, go to meetings and then it’s straight to practice. Then we come back for lunch, watch film from practice and then you have maybe an hour to come back to your dorm, take a shower and chill before we have to go to dinner. After that, we do a walk-through for about an hour before bed, so it’s a lot.”
Frazzitta has settled in and is getting used to being a part of the interior portion of the Lions’ offensive line, which is the opposite of what he played at Morgan County. There, he competed for the Bulldogs at tackle, contrasting former teammate Chance Reid, who is now at Garder-Webb. Frazzitta’s now playing a position he’s a little unfamiliar with.
“They have me at right guard for right now,” Frazzitta said. “They’re mainly focusing on just getting me to know all of the plays at right guard. That’s before they go and try to switch us from the left side to the right side, but I will definitely just be playing guard here. I won’t be playing any tackle, which is fine with me.”
Frazzitta played under both Bill Malone and Clint Jenkins as head coaches at Morgan County. He also developed a strong bond with former position coach Max Gaubert, who spoke highly of Frazzitta, saying he was a delight to coach.
“Regardless of how hard it may be for him to move away from his mother and family, I have complete confidence that Dominic is where God planned him to be,” Gaubert said in a text. “I’m excited about his future and look forward to watching him play.”
Jumping from high school to the college level can be a major change for some athletes; however, Frazzitta is handling the transition and speed of the game well.
“It’s really not bad, from the looks of it so far,” he said. “The only thing I am struggling with is the playbook, specifically remembering everything. Remembering all of the little steps that I have to do, the little things that we have to do on the field.”
Beyond adjusting to the college level and learning a whole new playbook, Frazzitta is meeting new people. He said he’s fitting right in with his new teammates.
“I was honestly ready to leave (Morgan County). I wanted to be on my own and just see how I adapted to it,” he added. “I’m meeting new guys. People say you meet your best friends in college, and I can already tell I have met some of them.”
He’s acknowledged he’s also learning more about the way life works.
“I guess I should probably learn to look at the price of something before I buy it from the store rather than just looking at it, thinking it’s cool, and asking my mom, ‘Alright, can you buy this for me?’” Frazzitta joked. “Now, I can say that ‘I got this.’”
As far as expectations go for the season, the 6-foot-6, 300-pound lineman hopes to see the field for the Lions.
He also understands that he’s a small fish in a big pond.
“For me, personally, I want to get in the game, but I am not expecting to come here and start over two-year seniors that are 24 years old and have been here for six years already,” Frazzitta said. “I’m just focusing on getting to know myself and the playbook.”
Mars Hill starts its season on Sept. 1, at East Tennessee State.