Colorado State University Athletics
Rams add in-state lineman Frieler to roster
6/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 15, 2011
By Zak Gilbert
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State continues to increase its depth, adding offensive lineman A.J. Frieler to the roster on Wednesday. Head Coach Steve Fairchild made the announcement.
Frieler, a 6-foot-5, 295-pound bulldozer from Greeley (Colo.) West High School, just 31 miles southeast of the CSU campus, is officially a true freshman with five available years and four seasons of eligibility, despite graduating in the spring of 2010. He spent the 2010-11 academic year at the Air Force prep school, but has opted to transfer to CSU.
The lineman, who joins former prep teammates Max Morgan and Connor Roggy, his cousin, on the CSU roster, is eligible to compete in 2011 should coaches choose to play him. Frieler’s uncle, Mitch Roggy, played football at CSU and his other uncle and Connor’s dad, Mark Roggy, was his head football coach at West. His last name is pronounced FREE-ler.
The addition gives the Rams three members of the Denver Post’s 2009 All-Colorado football team. The squad, made up of the state’s top players by position regardless of classification, included Frieler, Morgan and running back Dorian Brown.
Frieler helped GWHS to a second straight Northern Conference title as a senior offensive tackle. He blocked for a 1,797-yard rusher and the Spartans spent much of that season ranked No. 1 in the Class 4A polls, before falling to Wheat Ridge in the state playoffs. A year earlier, when Wheat Ridge denied Greeley West in the state championship game at Invesco Field, Frieler earned his first of two consecutive all-state selections.
A two-way starter for three years, Frieler also lined up at nose guard on defense. He garnered all-state recognition as both an offensive tackle and defensive lineman in 2008 and 2009, in addition to all-conference honors at both positions. West also presented him with its Tyler MacKenzie Memorial Award, given to the athlete that best demonstrates the attributes of the U.S. Army soldier, a former West football player, killed in Iraq.
An All-American in track, Frieler was his team’s field MVP, throwing the discus a school-record 179 feet, 3 inches. He lettered four years in track, and three years as a heavyweight wrestler, in addition to three years in football.
Air Force, Wyoming, UNLV and Arizona State recruited him during high school, in addition to CSU.
Academic all-state in both football and track as a junior and senior, he graduated on the high honor roll with a 3.81 grade-point average. He will major in business at Colorado State.
