IRVING, Texas — Travis Frederick was eager to put on a helmet during Dallas Cowboys rookie minicamp last weekend. It marked the first time he's done so since Wisconsin played in the Rose Bowl on January 1, a 20-14 loss to Stanford.
But helmets were the only piece of protective equipment the Cowboys were wearing during the two days that media members were allowed to attend. And without pads, Frederick doesn't truly get to show his personality on the field.
"The thing I like about football the most is that you get to do things on the field that you can't do off the field," said Frederick, the lone center drafted in the first round in April. "I can be this kind of guy out here with you guys, but it would be pretty illegal for me to just beat you up. On the field, I get a chance to do that. I get a chance to legally beat somebody up, so I take advantage of that when I can."
Frederick, who currently weighs 317 pounds, certainly has the size to deliver a pounding. He weighed more than 200 pounds in fifth grade and first crossed the 300-pound mark during his junior year at Big Foot High School.
"I wasn't necessarily fat, I was just a big kid," he said.
Frederick should be an interesting player to follow during his rookie season. Although offensive linemen don't usually get a lot of attention, Frederick's personality and long beard have made him a fun interview.
And on the field, the coaches seemed impressed with what they saw from the 22-year-old during the first morning practice. Following the first round of the draft, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said offensive line coach Bill Callahan compared Frederick to Nick Mangold, a four-time Pro Bowl center who Callahan coached when he was with the New York Jets. However, Callahan said Friday that it's "really unfair to even try to make that comparison right now."
In Callahan's assessment after the first rookie minicamp practice, Frederick was "everything we thought, in terms of communication, all the sequences and how he had to point things out. It was pretty well done."
"He's a smart guy," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "He has good command at the center position. But he's a long way off. He's got a lot to learn."
Frederick started all 14 games at center for the Badgers last season and was named first-team All-Big Ten by the media.
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
