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Future Pros: Canadian Eric Fraser

Future Pros: Canadian Eric Fraser

By Michael Preston

Photo courtesy CMU

Eric Fraser won’t be going home for Christmas.

But the Central Michigan starting safety will return home to Burnaby, BC, a few days after his family have opened the presents under the tree and hopes to delight them with tales of a victory over Purdue in the Motor City Bowl.

Fraser and the CMU Chippewas take on the Boilermakers at Ford Field in Detroit on Wednesday, December 26, forcing the former Burnaby Central star to put his holiday celebrations on hold for a few days.

“There is not a lot I can do about it, but the trade off of playing in a bowl game is worth it,” explained Fraser. “I will leave after the bowl and go to Chicago the next morning and then be home for 10 days.”

Last week the sophomore safety added a second Mid-American Conference Championship to his collection of college football honors as CMU defeated Miami 35-10 at Ford Field. His influential contribution of a career-best 10 tackles earned him the CMU Scholar-Athlete of the Week award as well as the MAC title, recognition that Fraser is proud to have received.

“This championship means more to me because last year I played a little bit on special teams and returned kicks, but this year I started at strong safety so I think the experience was a lot better,” he said.

“I was able to help the team with tackles and played a pretty good game, which made the whole experience a lot better for me. I felt like I made an impact.

“I didn’t really think about the possibility of winning the student-athlete award and then my girlfriend saw the story about it on the website. It feels good to be recognized not only for athletics but also for academics because the goal coming here is to also get a degree.

“It is pretty difficult to play football and take care of your studies. A lot of people don’t understand the time commitment. It is an extra four hours a day that we don’t have time to study or do school work. Then sometimes we have to watch film on our own time.

“You have to organize life between football and academics and a social life, which is a challenge, but it is pretty rewarding. I think there is a good relationship between athletics and academics and if we’re on a road game and we miss something they are always happy to push an assignment date back or let us reschedule a test.”

Fraser almost missed out on the opportunity to play football and study at an NCAA university. He did not receive a scholarship offer from CMU until the July before his freshman season began and had been injured for much of his senior year in high school, denying him the chance to shine for college scouts.

“Mine was definitely a last minute thing,” he explained. “Roger Kelly, my coach at the North Delta Longhorns, had a business partner who was a coach at CMU at the time and that was the connection. I wasn’t really recruited. I went to a Nike camp in the June and put up some good numbers so I guess they took a lot of notice then.”

Redshirted as a freshman, Fraser played in all 14 games in 2006 as a kick returner and defensive back and had an interception return for a touchdown. This year, he has an interception, 4 kickoff returns for 94 yards and most notably is the team’s fifth leading tackler with 75 stops.

“I like to feel speed is an asset and I’m able to cover receivers and my ability to cover ground is what makes me a good safety,” said the player who finished second overall in the Nike Fastest Kid in Canada competition and excelled as a high school track athlete.

“I think the season has gone well. We had a couple of disappointing losses during the year but we rebounded well as a team and got on the practice field and managed to grind it out. We’ve been getting better as the season has gone on and there is even room for improvement.”

That improvement will be evident if Central Michigan is to overcome Purdue in the Motor City Bowl having fallen to the Boilermakers 22-45 in the third game of the season, a loss that left the Chippewas with a 1-2 record that eventually rose to 8-5 overall.

Fraser is looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead at Ford Field, where he has played three times previously, against Middle Tennessee State, Ohio and Miami.

“We played Purdue earlier in the year and they’re a good team,” he said. “It is definitely a big match up to be able to play them again. Just help the seniors get a win over a BCS school, which they’ve not done before, would be a shot at redemption.

“It’s awesome to play at Ford Field. It is probably one of the nicest NFL stadiums around. It wasn’t super packed when we played there before, but we are expecting a big crowd. When there are when 55,000 fans, most of them cheering for the home state team, it is an awesome atmosphere.”

Fraser now has three weeks without a competitive game of football to occupy between winning the MAC title and taking on Purdue. As usual, he has to juggle a combination of athletics and academics.

“We’re going into finals week so the coaches give us some time to study,” he explained. “We’re going to continue working out and have a couple of practices. We will get in more practices than normal and not necessarily in pads. We will concentrate on position work to keep us fresh. There is a lot we can do to keep us in football shape.”

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