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Rocky Mountain College inside linebacker Kyle Frazier is a sixth-year senior and a three-year starter for the Battlin' Bears.
Rocky Mountain College’s Kyle Frazier celebrates a sack against Carroll College on March 13, 2021, at Herb Klindt Field during the spring season played that year as a result of COVID-19.
Rocky Mountain College inside linebacker Kyle Frazier is a sixth-year senior and a three-year starter for the Battlin' Bears.
Rocky Mountain College’s Kyle Frazier celebrates a sack against Carroll College on March 13, 2021, at Herb Klindt Field during the spring season played that year as a result of COVID-19.
BILLINGS — There have been ups and downs.
And at times, it hasn’t been easy.
But, sixth-year Rocky Mountain College senior inside linebacker Kyle Frazier is glad he made the most of his opportunities on the campus at 1511 Poly Drive in Billings.
“I’ve loved every second of it,” said Frazier who has had the two extra years tacked onto his eligibility by COVID-19 and a medical redshirt due to tearing his Achilles tendon in 2019. “I wouldn’t ask for a better place to be honestly.”
Count Rocky football coach Chris Stutzriem as one who is glad Frazier is back for another season with the Battlin’ Bears, who play their home opener Saturday against the College of Idaho at 11:30 a.m. at Herb Klindt Field.
“No. 1, he’s just a tough young man from a mental side and he has physicality on the football side,” said Stutzriem. “He’s grown a lot since he’s been here. He’s had some ups and downs with injuries and academics, but these last two years have been phenomenal. I consider him one of our leaders on our team.”
In the No. 19-ranked Battlin’ Bears season-opening 27-10 win at Southern Oregon last Saturday, Frazier made two solo tackles and had a tackle for loss as the Bears’ defense held the Raiders to 269 yards.
The 6-foot, 220-pound inside linebacker is a three-year starter for RMC.
And on Saturday when the Battlin’ Bears (1-0) host the Yotes (1-0) in the Frontier Conference matchup, Frazier is intent on helping Rocky pick up the victory.
C of I — which received votes, but fell outside of the top 25 in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll — is located in Caldwell, Idaho, approximately 28 miles away from Frazier’s hometown of Boise, Idaho.
The Bears are playing with a “one game at a time mentality” this year said Frazier. Last year, RMC finished 7-3 and shared the Frontier title with Montana Western and C of I, so the Saturday contest pits two of the defending co-league champions against each other.
“It will be a good game. They are a physical team and coached well,” said Frazier. “We have the physicality and athletes to match them. It means a little bit more to me since they are from back home, too.”
A switch flicks when Frazier steps on the football field.
“When I put my helmet on, I go into a different world and become a different person for those 60 minutes,” said Frazier, who arrived at Rocky in 2017 and who intends on savoring his final year of playing college football. “It’s a mentality switch once that helmet goes on.”
Stutzriem agreed with that assessment and said the starting inside linebacker has all the necessary tools to do well at his job.
“Physical, confident, screw loose in the head, everything you want from a good linebacker,” said Stutzriem. “Fast, confident and tough. The good linebackers have a screw or two loose.”
Frazier agreed that on the field when playing linebacker and trying to make the play, “I think I do have a few screws loose for sure.”
Frazier has overcame the odds during his time with Rocky. At one point, he struggled academically but is now on track to graduate this spring.
“My grades slipped a little bit as a freshman, but I was able to get that up,” he said. “I’m a double major in business management and sports management and I have a minor in exercise science.”
When Frazier graduates he said he might take a little break from school and then pursue a master of business administration.
Frazier said a goal of his would be to work as a sports agent and he’s also considered a career in real estate. Graduating from school has been something Frazier said he’s strived for.
“It’s a huge accomplishment for me personally,” he said. “It’s been a long six years, but something I’ve always wanted to do personally. I’m excited I get to finally accomplish and finish it.”
Stutzriem is excited for what both the immediate, and the long-term future, hold for Frazier. The coach anticipates big things from the hard-hitting linebacker on the football field this year and success down the road and off the field for him.
“He’s been awesome and never changed who he is,” said Stutzriem. “He’s been a headache sometimes early on, but that’s a lot of guys. He’s grown into a phenomenal man and I’m excited for the great things he’ll do. He’s caring and smart and really just a great person and a helluva football player.”
In the spring of 2018, Frazier said he tore his meniscus in his knee and in the summer of 2019 during non-contact workouts, Frazier said he suffered an Achilles tendon rupture that required surgery. Frazier said his recovery time was 11 months from his Achilles tendon injury.
“It definitely hurt and gave me a good chance to look at things from a bird’s-eye view, and get a different perspective on the game” said Frazier of the injury and recovery process.
Frazier has also played for two different head coaches at Rocky. Jason Petrino was the coach when Frazier was a freshman and sophomore. Stutzriem was hired as head coach prior to the 2019 season to succeed Petrino, who had resigned to be the defensive coordinator at Southern Illinois. Stutzriem had previously coached at Rocky in 2016-17 as the offensive coordinator under Petrino.
“He’s been phenomenal, just phenomenal everything he’s been part of,” said Stutzriem. “It’s not easy going through a couple head coaches and defensive coordinators. He is what we look for in a linebacker and leader, and his leadership qualities and toughness are awesome.”
“Unfinished business” is the mantra the Rocky players picked for this season as the Bears just missed out on the playoffs last year. RMC lost to Montana Western 50-42 in double overtime in the final game of the regular season. A win would have given the Bears the league title and a playoff spot.
This year, Rocky would like to battle it out in the postseason with the best of the best in the NAIA. Frazier is a member of the player council for Rocky and would like nothing more than for the Bears to reach the postseason. He said there is a “different energy” in the Bears’ locker room this year than his previous seasons with the team.
It’s clear Frazier would like to end his Rocky career on a high note, with the Bears making some noise in the playoffs.
“We all have a bitter taste from last year and the taste after the last game,” said Frazier. “Our goal is to take it next game, next man up. We have the team to put it together.”
Frazier is thankful for the support he’s received while at Rocky and is glad the journey is working out the way it did.
“The support system I had to get here, this is my sixth year and being through ups and downs,” he said. “My support system with friends, family, girlfriend, teammates and coaches, they’ve helped me throughout the way. That’s been a huge part of my development as a football player and person as well.”
Email Gazette Sports Editor John Letasky at john.letasky@406mtsports.com or follow him on Twitter at @GazSportsJohnL
Four of the five games are home game for the Battlin' Bears.
Sports Editor at the Billings Gazette
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