Travis Frederick

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Travis Frederick
refer to caption
Frederick in 2016
No. 72
Position:Center
Personal information
Born: (1991-03-18) March 18, 1991 (age 33)
Sharon, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:320 lb (145 kg)
Career information
High school:Big Foot (Walworth, Wisconsin)
College:Wisconsin (2009–2012)
NFL draft:2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 31
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:96
Games started:96
Player stats at NFL.com

Travis Frederick (born March 18, 1991) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire seven-year career as a center for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was selected 31st overall by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft. In his time as a Cowboy he was elected to five Pro Bowls and he was an All-Pro in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Frederick is now the co-founder & chief operating officer of the tabletop role-playing game company Demiplane.

Early years[edit]

A native of Sharon, Wisconsin, Frederick attended Big Foot High School in Walworth, Wisconsin, where he was an all-state two-way lineman. He helped his high school team to second place in the 2008 WIAA Division 4 state playoffs.[1]

Frederick was also on Big Foot's track team. He finished second in the shot put at the 2008 'BDN' Invite, with a throw of 15.23 meters (50 ft 0 in). He took silver in the discus throw at the 2008 WIAA Sectional Championships, with a throw of 49.30 meters (161 ft 9 in).[2]

Recruiting[edit]

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Frederick was ranked as the No. 83 offensive tackle prospect in his class.[3]

College career[edit]

Frederick attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and played for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 2009 to 2012. After graduating high school early to participate in spring practice, Frederick became the first true freshman in Badgers history to start a season-opening game on the offensive line, when he lined up at center against Northern Illinois. An ankle injury in week 2 knocked him out of the starting lineup, but he returned for the final two games, at left guard, after center Peter Konz was sidelined (blood clots) and John Moffitt was moved to center. For the season, he played in five games, starting four (two at center and two at left guard).

In order to preserve a year of Frederick's NCAA eligibility, Wisconsin coaching staff decided to redshirt him in 2010.[4] In his redshirt sophomore season, Frederick replaced John Moffitt, starting 11 of 13 games at left guard. For two games, he had to substitute for Peter Konz at center.

Following Konz's departure for the 2012 NFL draft, Frederick was moved to center his junior season. He started all 13 games at center and was named a first-team All-American by Pro Football Weekly.[5]

Professional career[edit]

Considered the best center in his class by Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN, Frederick decided to enter the 2013 NFL draft as an underclassman.[6] He was projected to be a second- to third-round selection.

At the NFL Combine, Frederick ran a 5.58 in the 40-yard dash, second-slowest among offensive lineman.[7] He also posted a below-average 21 repetitions in the 225 lb bench press.[8][9]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 3+5⁄8 in
(1.92 m) 		312 lb
(142 kg) 		33 in
(0.84 m) 		10 in
(0.25 m)		 5.58 s 1.91 s 3.20 s 4.76 s 7.81 s 28+1⁄2 in
(0.72 m)		 8 ft 1 in
(2.46 m)		 21 reps
All values from NFL Combine[10][11]
Frederick snapping the football to Dak Prescott in 2017

In the 2013 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys traded down in the first round with the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third-round pick (used to draft Terrance Williams). In the first round, the team selected Frederick after eight offensive linemen were drafted before him.[12] This decision caused a stir in the media because it was not only seen as a reach, but the trade was also criticized for bringing poor compensation after moving down 13 positions.[13]

Frederick was named a starter from the first day of Organized Team Activities in the preseason, replacing Phil Costa, who had been the starter in the previous two years. He became the first rookie in franchise history to start every game at center and was selected to the NFL All-Rookie team.[14]

The next year, he continued his development, by anchoring what was arguably considered as the best offensive line in the league and was also named to his first Pro Bowl.

In 2015, he had to work with four different starting quarterbacks with varying degrees of knowledge of the team's offense, which required him to make more protection calls. He was named to his second Pro Bowl.[15]

On August 13, 2016, Frederick signed a six-year, $56.4 million contract extension with the Cowboys, making him the highest-paid center in the league.[16]

Before the start of the 2016 season, Frederick was named one of the five team captains.[17] That year, Frederick helped pave the way for rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott to the NFL rushing yards leader and his first Pro Bowl while protecting rookie quarterback Dak Prescott to his first Pro Bowl as well. He was named to his third straight Pro Bowl and was named First-team All-Pro, both honors being shared with fellow Cowboy offensive linemen Tyron Smith and Zack Martin.[18] He was also ranked 87th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 as the only center in the list.[19]

On December 19, 2017, Frederick was named to his fourth straight Pro Bowl alongside tackle Tyron Smith and guard Zack Martin for the second straight year.[20]

On September 3, 2018, Frederick was placed on injured reserve to start the 2018 season after being diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome on August 22.[21] He was inactive for the first four games before inevitably being placed on the reserve/non-football illness list on October 6, 2018.[22]

Frederick was named to his fifth Pro Bowl in 2019.

On March 23, 2020, Frederick announced his retirement from professional football.[23][24]

Other endeavors[edit]

Frederick, with Peter Romenesko, co-founded Demiplane in 2019. Demiplane acts as a digital platform for various tabletop role-playing game tools such as game hosting and matchmaking along with digital compendiums for licensed games; the platform launched in 2020.[25][26] Frederick is the company's chief operating officer.[27] On the change of direction in his career, Frederick said, "I really enjoy the challenge of something new".[28]

Personal life[edit]

Frederick double majored in computer engineering and computer science at the University of Wisconsin.[29]

On August 22, 2018, Frederick was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome.[30][31][32]

Frederick has two brothers, Tyler and Collin.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Former Big Foot star Travis Frederick no ordinary UW freshman". Janesville Gazette. August 17, 2009.
  2. ^ "Travis Frederick". Athletic.net.
  3. ^ "2009 Offensive Tackles Prospect Ranking". rivals.com. January 15, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  4. ^ "UW staff hopes to get through 2010 without Frederick". www.jsonline.com.
  5. ^ "NFL football news, rumors, analysis". Pro Football Weekly. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012.
  6. ^ "Wisconsin's Frederick announces he's going pro". January 4, 2013.
  7. ^ "Travis Frederick stands pat at pro day". The Chippewa Herald. March 7, 2013.
  8. ^ "Frederick believes his performance on the field is enough for pro scouts". Walworth County Today. March 7, 2013.
  9. ^ "Cowboys' Potential Draft Pick: Travis Frederick, C, Wisconsin". NBCDFW.com. March 26, 2013.
  10. ^ "Travis Frederick NFL Draft profile". NFL.com. March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  11. ^ "Travis Frederick rating". NFLDraftScout.com. March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  12. ^ "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  13. ^ "Travis Frederick surprised at selection". ESPN.com. April 26, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  14. ^ "Roster Rundown: Frederick Exceeded First-Round Hopes". DallasCowboys.com. March 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  15. ^ "Sean Lee gets INT, center Travis Frederick takes a snap at QB; plus how much money each Cowboy made at the Pro Bowl". DallasNews.com. January 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  16. ^ Wesseling, Chris (August 13, 2016). "Travis Frederick signs six-year, $56.4M extension". NFL.com. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  17. ^ "Cowboys Vote 5 Team Captains For 2016 Season". September 9, 2016.
  18. ^ "Three rookies, Matt Ryan among players named to All-Pro team". NFL.com. January 6, 2017.
  19. ^ "'Top 100 Players of 2017': No. 87 Travis Frederick". NFL.com.
  20. ^ "NFL announces 2018 Pro Bowl rosters". NFL.com. December 19, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  21. ^ "Cowboys plan to keep OL Travis Frederick on roster". NFL.com. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  22. ^ Helman, David (October 6, 2018). "Cowboys Make Two Injury Moves Ahead Of Week 5". DallasCowboys.com.
  23. ^ "Cowboys C Travis Frederick announces retirement". Dallas News. March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  24. ^ Walker, Patrik. "Cowboys center Travis Frederick announces retirement at age 29". www.cbssports.com. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  25. ^ "Demiplane Hires D&D Beyond Founder Adam Bradford". ComicBook.com. March 4, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  26. ^ "Demiplane's plan to make the world a better place with virtual tabletop gaming tools". VentureBeat. May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  27. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (March 7, 2021). "Adam Bradford Heads To Demiplane As Chief Development Officer". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  28. ^ Whitt, Richie (April 20, 2022). "Cowboys Comeback: OL Help From Surprise Unretirement?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  29. ^ "Lions host C Travis Frederick and LB Jeremiah Green for pre-draft visits Friday".
  30. ^ Helman, David (August 22, 2018). "Frederick Diagnosed With Guillian Barré Syndrome". DallasCowboys.com.
  31. ^ Epstein, Jori (November 16, 2018). "Cowboys' Travis Frederick sees hope, progress after 'scary' Guillain-Barre Syndrome diagnosis". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  32. ^ "Cowboys OL Frederick, 29, announces retirement". ESPN.com. March 23, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2022.

External links[edit]

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