Travis Frederick

It's state championship time for Wisconsin high school football, always a fun time of year if you're a fan. Tonight UW recruit Travis Frederick and Walworth Big Foot are playing against Wautoma in the Division 4 title game at Camp Randall, and I watched the first half.

Couldn't get a great gauge on the guy. He looks bigger than the other kids, but since most of the linemen are bundled up everyone looks a little bigger than usual. He seems to be pretty mobile, and Big Foot likes to get him pulling and blocking downfield. Problem is, Wautoma's defense is pretty quick and oftentimes the play flowed right and Frederick was downfield looking for someone to block while the ball carrier was getting blocked. Whenever he does engage a defender he gets the job done convincingly. He's listed as 6-5, 310, but he looks a little shorter than that, and I see him fitting in at guard or center.

I'm recording tomorrow's Division 1 game tomorrow, which for the third straight year features Homestead vs. Arrowhead. Defensive line recruit Shelby Harris plays for Homestead, I'm hoping for big things from him. And don't forget about Waupaca, which plays Reedsburg at 10 a.m. in the Division 3 title game.

One last note on the Division 4 game: When Schwib and I were in Oshkosh, Wautoma was in our coverage area. If memory serves, in 2000 they tried to drop their football program but the school board didn't let them. To go from the brink of extinction to the state title game in less than a decade is pretty incredible.