Everything Michigan OL Blake Frazier said during his spring practice media availability

On the benefits of the new strength and conditioning program

It’s been a bunch. They know what they’re doing. Obviously, they’ve produced a ton of guys over at Utah and brought in a couple guys from different places, but they’ve been super helpful in adapting to what this team needs and making sure that everybody’s in the spot that they need to be.

On the differences for him this year compared to last

Yeah, I’m a lot more comfortable, I think. I think last season, I was injured during spring, so I was more focused on rehab than anything. But just from a general sense, in a more of a leadership position now on this team, really enjoyed finding new ways to incorporate that role into how I play and everything. So just been really focused on making sure that I’m doing everything I can to make this team as good as it can be.

On how the staff has approached spring differently this year compared to last year

I think it’s a lot more execution based. I think we’re not out there as long as we were last spring or for practices in the past. There’s a lot more focus on getting more work done in less time, so less taxing on the body, but still making sure that we’re getting as much work done and work at the things that we need during that time.

On his impressions of Houston Ka’ahaina-Torres

He’s actually my roommate. He moved into my apartment when he got here. He’s been super, super — a great addition to the line, very open to learning. He’s in the film room with Harding a bunch and excited to see how he continues to develop. He’s a year younger than me, so I’ve been trying to help him as much as I can, but he’s doing a great job.

On how he is as a roommate

He’s good as a roommate. He probably takes over the kitchen as much as anybody I’ve ever lived with. He’s a big chef guy, but besides that, keeps to himself, doesn’t do — He’s not a guy you’ve got to worry about off the field.

On what “execution-based” looks like in practice

I think it’s just making sure we’re getting reps at different plays, essentially. It’s a new offense, so as we install stuff, the coaches are making sure that what may have worked at Utah may not work here or may work here. So they’re just making sure that as we go further into spring and install more plays that we’re running those plays and actually getting real live reps with the guys that we have here.

On putting on weight being a major focus

Yeah, I’ve gained a lot of weight. I’m not going to say a number just because I was talking with our nutrition staff earlier. I like watching people on Twitter argue about whether I’m big enough or not. It’s one of my biggest time passers, but I’m in a good spot. Staff’s happy with it, and I feel the best I’ve ever had.

On his current weight being where he wants it to be

Maybe five more pounds at best, but I’m pretty comfortable where I’m at right now.

On why it was important to be one of the first players to announce their return to the program

I think everybody knows what this school means to me, and I knew that coming back as a guy that had started seven games, I wanted to be somebody that people knew was going to be on this team and looking forward to adapting to the new staff. I just wanted to be somebody that if anybody had questions or concerns with everything that was going on, it was a big transition, and I wanted to make sure that I was a guy that people knew they could lean on. So as soon as everything got settled and people were figuring out where they were going to be, I wanted to make sure that I was one of those guys that was ready to come back and play.

On his impressions of Jim Harding

I love him. Harding is unbelievable. I was just talking to Jansen about it. He’s somebody that is very adaptive. He works with me, Sprague, Jake, just a couple examples. He gives us all different tools to work with because we all play a little bit differently. So he’s been unbelievable at coming in and while introducing the new scheme to us, we keep a lot of our new on-field calls the same just to ease the transition. But he’s been unbelievable. Super excited to keep working with him. His track record speaks for itself, so I’m excited about it.

On how he’s seen the OL room gel

We were lucky enough to, I think, we probably kept more of our guys than we lost. We definitely did, but I think of the units on the team, we kept most of us together. So towards the end of the season especially, we’re starting to really become a family, and I think the fact that we kept as many guys as we did really helped us. So Joe Moore is the goal. You come to Michigan as an offensive lineman, that’s what you’re aiming for. But I think we’re in a really good spot right now, and I’m excited to see how we keep developing.

On the basketball program winning a championship

Yeah, of course I watched it. Yeah, we watched it with teammates. Ended up in South U until I couldn’t control which way I was getting shoved, and that’s when I decided to call it a night. But it was unbelievable to see, you know, talk about creating a team to have your five starters transfer in and to win a national championship, that was unbelievable to see. So as a Michigan fan, love to see it. As a Michigan student, love to see it. It was really exciting.

On whether he considered leaving the program

Yeah, I think it would have been naive to have completely ruled out leaving. It was never a heavy consideration of mine, but of course, it was looked into just because I needed to make sure I was going to be in the best position. And with an entire new staff, it’s hard to know that for sure off rip, but it was never a heavy consideration of mine.

On why he felt it was important to come to Michigan

Because it’s Michigan. This is where I’ve wanted to be my entire life, and finally getting to be in the role that I wanted to be. As a starting guy, I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t restarting that by going somewhere else. You know what I mean? I’ve developed so many relationships here with teammates and people on staff that are still here, and it was important to me that, like I was telling Angelique, I was one of those guys that people could rely on.

On what Andrew Babalola was doing in camp last year and what he brings to the line

Yeah, I mean Babs is one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around. He understands the game, and he takes a lot of his off-field IQ to the field. Sometimes you meet guys that are super smart off the field, and you get them on the field, and they don’t know what they’re doing. But he’s been one of those guys that you know is going to know what’s going on, and he did an unbelievable job in camp of just coming in as an early guy and standing out at the end of the day when you come in early. You don’t have a whole lot to lose necessarily, and he got to a point where he did. You know what I mean? He was playing really good football, and we’re excited to get him back.