Frasier receives jersey to play in Army All-American Bowl game

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on November 7, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- Johnny Frasier waited with coaches and servicemen in Princeton's gymnasium dressed in a black button-up shirt and black dress pants.

A once-empty gym started to fill with parents and students. As Frasier's teammates from the Princeton football team walked in, he made a point to hug each one.

This was Johnny Frasier's day. And instead of grabbing the entire spotlight, he spent it thanking the ones who got him there.

"I couldn't have done this without them," Frasier said. "This was four years in the making with their help."

Frasier was honored in a ceremony conducted by the Army All-American game staff in which his family and friends got to catch the first glimpse of him in the black All-American jersey he'll wear during the Army All-American game on Jan. 3, 2015, in San Antonio.

The annual showcase game is reserved for the best of the best. NFL star running backs LeSean McCoy, Demarco Murray, Jamaal Charles and Reggie Bush played in the game.

University of Alabama's TJ Yeldon, who will almost certainly be in an NFL jersey in the future, played in 2012. University of Oregon's Thomas Tyner played in 2013. Those players came from high school "factories" that produce talent which reaches the next level.

Then there's Frasier, the 225-pounder from Princeton, which has a student enrollment of 516. That small population is exactly what he wants to represent when he gets his chance to play in the game.

"I want to show people that it doesn't matter where you come from, small school whatever, I'm going to do what I got to do against any level of competition," Frasier said. "It gives me chills to hear those names who have come before me with all of that history there."

He's the first person from his school to be selected.

Athletic director Marty Gurganus called the event "one of the biggest announcements in the history of Princeton High School."

Princeton head coach Derrick Minor agreed.

"I don't think (the community) will grasp the magnitude until 10 or 15 years down the road," Minor said. "I don't think we understand how big of a deal it is, especially for the kids, you know, to be able to go to school with Johnny."

Many of Frasier's friends and family will be at the Alamodome to watch the hometown boy represent his school on the national stage, while others will surely tune in on NBC. Minor, though, wouldn't miss it for the world.

"I've already booked my flight, ticket, hotel ... all of that," he said. Minor also received a plaque and an invitation to the Army All-American coaching clinic -- which he didn't expect.

After he was awarded his jersey, Frasier stood at a podium and had to speak to the student body. He said that made him more nervous than the game would.

"Speaking made me way more nervous," he said. "Playing is easy. That suits me better."

He thanked God. He thanked his mom. He thanked his teammates and his coaches. He thanked his school. Then he sat down.

It was his day. The spotlight shined on No. 22 as nearly the entire school looked on. After breaking the career school record for rushing yards and running for more than 6,400 yards and 89 touchdowns in three years, he finally had a chance to gloat -- a chance to say 'look what I did.'

And he didn't take an ounce of credit.