Photo By: Evan Farrell
By Billy Watkins
With the game on the line with 1:28 left and star running back Kewan Lacy out with an injury last Sunday night in Nashville, Makhi Frazier was the choice to fill Lacy’s spot.
“That meant a lot to me,” said Frazier, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound junior transfer from Michigan State. “It was cool to do my part on the final drive and help the team get the win.”
With 24 seconds left and Ole Miss at the Louisville 35, Frazier carried for four yards to set up Lucas Carniero’s 48-yard field goal as time expired, sealing a 41-38 victory.
“I already knew it, but they told me to just get four or five yards and get Lucas a little closer on his field goal,” Frazier said.
And don’t underestimate those four yards. Without them, it would have been a 52-yard try instead of 48. Psychologically, 48 sounds a lot closer — like stores stamping $9.98 on an item for sale It just seems more harmless to the pocket book than a whole $10.
Head coach Pete Golding even gave Frazier a shout out during the postgame locker room celebration. “That was pretty cool,” he said.
Frazier finished with seven carries for 27 yards. Teammate JT Lindsey, a sophomore transfer from LSU, added 26 yards on seven carries.
Ole Miss was determined to add depth to the running back spot during the off season. Lacy, a preseason All-American, took too many hits last year while carrying the ball 306 times.
At Michigan State, Frazier led the team in rushing a year ago with 520 yards, including 119 against rival Michigan.
Most veteran running backs would have shied away from coming to a team with Lacy clearly the starter. And Frazier had options. His final three choices were Ohio State, Indiana and Ole Miss.
“I wanted to play in the SEC. That’s been a dream all my life,” said Frazier, who grew up in McKinney, Texas. “I got to watch Ole Miss on TV last year against Oklahoma and in one of the playoff games..I knew Ole Miss was one of the top schools in the SEC over the past six years, and I wanted to compete every day with a guy like Kewan. I wanted to watch him, learn from him and help me improve my craft.”
One thing Frazier — whose first name is pronounced “muh-KY” — has worked on after watching Lacy is pass protection.
“It’s a mindset,” he said. “The key is to be physical, even if that means you’re about to get run through. You have to look at the linebacker or end and stick your face in there, get your hands in tight and protect your quarterback at all costs.”
Rebel quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was not sacked against Louisville.
While the Rebels made bushels of errors offensively and defensively, Frazier preferred a tough test to open the season. And Las Vegas oddsmakers figured it would be a tough battle, making No. 9 Ole Miss only a 6.5-point favorite over the 24th-ranked Cardinals.
“it was good for us to fight through adversity,” said Frazier, who will turn 21 Saturday when the Rebels play Charlotte in Oxford. “We stayed together the whole way. We found our strengths and our weaknesses But the most important thing was to start the season 1-0.
“Everything we did wrong in that game can be corrected, and I think that will be our total focus at practice this week.”
Coming from the Big Ten, Frazier said there are notable differences to deal with.
“The tempo of the league and the tempo that we play at is really different,” he said. “Plus, the heat. I played in it in high school, but after being in Michigan it took me a couple of months to get used to it again.”
In his spare time, Frazier likes playing video games and eating at two of his favorite restaurants — Oxford Grillehouse and Tico’s Steakhouse.
“And I like to focus on my faith,” he said. “I was raised in the church. Being able to wake up every day and play football is such a blessing.
“I know God has a plan for me. It’s already laid out. So I just do what I can do, and He will handle the rest.”
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A player’s status during a tight contest changes everything. The impact of that substitution depended entirely on the specific game situation.