Great article

[Big Zip]

Aside from getting the name of the show My Wife and Kids wrong -- this is probably one of the best articles David Lee has written in the Beacon. You have to wonder who checks the facts over there though.

Frye's company

Zips quarterback, roommates personify college life

By David Lee Morgan Jr.

Beacon Journal staff writer

Trash from the garbage can overflows onto the front porch.

Burger King wrappers and empty McDonald's french fry cartons are under the front porch.

Inside, a huge carpet stain is noticeable. It's from a 64-ounce soda that was accidently kicked over.

It's all part of the landscape at Charlie Frye's house.

Frye, the starting quarterback for the University of Akron, and his roommates/teammates, defensive end Dwayne LeFall, linebacker Chase Blackburn and wide receiver Mo Ellington, make the characters in the classic comedy Animal House look like boarding school students.

The Zips (6-4, 6-1) are preparing for their biggest game, a battle against Miami University (7-3, 6-1) for the Mid-American Conference East Division championship Saturday at the Rubber Bowl.

Still, Frye and his posse are carrying on like they have no cares in the world. That's how they live -- carefree and loose.

Frye, who some NFL scouts say will be drafted in the first few rounds of the April draft, will have the opportunity to make a lot of money soon. For now, though, he and his roommates are flat broke, and they don't care.

Their four-bedroom house is just another off-campus dwelling. Nothing great.

The stairs creak with every step.

There are clothes in almost every corner of the house, some looking like they've been there since the season began Sept. 4.

Ellington, an Orlando, Fla., native, has the smallest bedroom.

``It's like a prison room,'' he said, laughing. ``Look at how small my bed is.'' Ellington's bed is so small he barely fits in it, and he's only 5-foot-11.

``I was the last one here, so I didn't get to pick what room I got.''

When Ellington opened the door to his cave-like room, it wouldn't have been a surprise if bats flew out.

Down the hall is LeFall's room.

LeFall, an Oakland, Calif., native, was named the MAC East Division Player of the Week this week for his stellar performance in Akron's 31-19 win at Ohio University.

Forget about a stellar performance when it comes to cleaning his room.

``And his room is neat right now,'' Ellington said, jokingly. ``Usually, you can't even walk into it without being attacked.''

When it comes to Frye's room, the quarterback has a secret weapon, his mom, Sally.

Actually, Sally and her husband, David Frye, who drive about an hour and 15 minutes from Willard, usually bail out all the guys Wednesday.

They bring huge serving dishes of food and the players feast like kings.

``Man, Charlie's mom and dad come here every week, and they put together a nice spread for us,'' LeFall said. ``It's like going to a buffet, only we don't have to pay for it. We love it, and we appreciate it.''

On this particular day, a Tuesday, the buffet was a day away.

There are others who constantly hang out at the house and are considered ``unofficial'' residents, like redshirt freshman Yamari Dixon and University of Pittsburgh recruit Luke Getsy. They are set to run things after the four seniors leave.

``Charlie is the president right now, but Luke is president-elect,'' said Blackburn, who is from Marysville. ``He'll be running things here next year when we're all gone.''

Then the front door opens and in walks Charlie Frye, carrying, to no surprise, several Burger King bags.

Right behind him are Jim Borrieci, Mike Piccirillo and Mike Grzeskowiak, each one of them carrying more Burger King packages, as if they had just returned from Christmas shopping.

Charlie Frye explains: ``Since our (five-game) win streak, I've been treating our linemen to dinner every week.''

The other linemen, Tim Crouch and Aaron Conley, don't live with Frye, but they aren't stupid. They met him at Burger King to get their weekly meal.

``I started out taking them to the Outback the first week,'' Frye said. ``The next week, it was Damon's, then the next week it was Ryan's Buffet. Now, we've been going to the King. They're killing me. I'm broke.''

The players grab a seat in the living room with their dinners, wherever they can find a seat. They put the food on the living-room table, which, now, looks like a Burger King kitchen. They chow down while watching a 60-inch high-definition television that is routinely tuned to ESPN.

If they aren't watching SportsCenter, they're caught up in a competitive PlayStation tournament.

The PlayStation competition often gets intense. Frye and Dixon battled Blackburn and Getsy in two-on-two video basketball.

Frye and Dixon lost.

Frye was so upset that he threw a shoe into the wall. The tread marks still are visible.

``We were playing on a Thursday night, and I didn't talk to Yamari until game day, which was Saturday,'' Frye said. ``I love him, but I just hate losing in PlayStation.''

Frye loves to compete, and hates to lose but really isn't a sore loser.

The serious question is how do all of these guys get along?

Amazingly.

They are more than just roommates and teammates. They are good friends.

Two black guys. Two white guys.

Other black players like Dixon come to visit and hang out.

Other white players like Getsy come to visit and hang out.

Race and socioeconomic backgrounds don't mean a thing.

``We all feel like we're brothers because we've known each other for so long,'' Frye said. ``This is a great house to be in, and we just have a lot of fun.''

What about their studies?

``I do most of my school work in the football office,'' Frye said. ``It's the most quiet place to study.''

Transportation?

Frye has the community vehicle.

``It's my car, but it's really our car,'' he said. ``The dent on the driver's side isn't mine, though. It's Dwayne's.''

LeFall fessed up to the little fender-bender.

``That was me,'' he said. ``I don't remember what happened, but it wasn't my fault.''

Rent at the Taj Mahal? $250 per person.

Blackburn acts as the supervisor of the house. He makes sure the bills are paid on time by posting a big envelope in the kitchen that tells when the utilities are due.

``I run everything here. Don't let any of them fool you,'' Blackburn said, as he was walking around the house with a trash bag cleaning up after everyone like a gracious host. ``I have to stay on them, or they won't pay the bills or clean up around here.''

LeFall remembers what happened when they didn't pay a particular bill this summer.

``We came home from practice one day, and we didn't have cable anymore,'' he said. ``We didn't have it for like a semester. Man, that was a killer. I need my cable.''

So, to get their SportsCenter, My Wife and Three Kids and The Real World fix on television, they would go around the corner to friends who play on the women's volleyball team and would take over the television for a few hours. The guys have since paid their cable bill so they no longer intrude on the neighbors.

Frye's house and his roommates represent everything great about the college experience.

It's about being broke and eating Ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

It's about eating your roommate's food then acting as if you have no idea where it went.

Most important, it's about graduating with a college degree and creating lifelong friendships.

``The thing I'm going to miss the most is just being here in this house in this living room and not having all of these guys with me,'' Frye said. ``I'm going to miss being around them because we are like a family.''

[Dr Z]

I just can't believe the BJ sent a photographer all the way down there to take a photo ! WOW

[Captain Kangaroo]

Since I bitch every time DL Morgan writes a poorly-researched, factually incorrect cut-n-pasted column, it wouldn't be fair for me not to mention it when he writes a good one.

Nice job, DL.

Unfortunately, your percentage of "good" columns hovers somewhere between Bryan Hipsher's FG percentage and UCF football's winning percentage.