Photo by: CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Football Speaker Series: Kavon Frazier
6/25/2024 2:06:00 PM | Football, Our Stories, Student-Athlete Leadership & Development
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Former Chippewa and NFL player Kavon Frazier speaks to Central Michigan football team about leadership, the business of the NFL, and what it takes to get to the next level.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Former Chippewa football player and six-year NFL veteran Kavon Frazier spoke to the 2024 Central Michigan Football team about leadership, process, life, and what it takes to make it to the next level.
Frazier was speaking to the squad as part of Central Michigan's new Football Speaker Series, in which former players and coaches return to Mount Pleasant to talk about topics relevant to the CMU football team. Frazier is the second speaker following CMU Hall of Fame coaches Herb Deromedi and Roy Kramer.
A Grand Rapids native who played safety at CMU from 2012-15, Frazier said his time at Central Michigan set him and his family up for life. He met his wife, a former Chippewas cheerleader, in Mount Pleasant. They now have three children, with one on the way.
After completing his six-year NFL career in 2022, Frazier has found stability and consistency in his life. He founded a flourishing business, Built4It, which comprises three workout facilities in the Dallas area. He is CEO of his own company and has a variety of other business interests. He is enrolled in CMU online courses, working toward a master's degree in business administration.
He credits Central Michigan for helping get him to where he is now.
All of this he achieved from humble beginnings, the son of a single-parent household with very limited resources. His mother raised him and he overcame adversity with an unwavering belief in himself that he could achieve all of his goals. He took advantage of the academic help available to him at CMU as he focused on his ultimate goal: the ability to provide financial stability for his family.
His advice and his story hit home with the team.
"I was in your shoes," Frazier told the CMU student-athletes. "I went through the exact same things that you are going through. I want each of you to really see that part. No matter what, there are always going to be challenges, both ups and downs. You have to work through things and have goals. Every decision you make, you can either do it or not. Every decision I made was to accomplish my mission. I knew what I was going to do and where I was going to go. Every decision you make should be to put you one step forward to your goal.
"You earn respect. These are things I applied in my life to help me get to where I'm at. I'm 29 years old. I've got four kids, beautiful family, beautiful house. I lack nothing and I'm accomplishing everything I've wanted to accomplish at 29 years old. It's all because I implemented these things, and I knew I had a vision of where I wanted to go.
"This is what football can provide for you. You have to do it right. You have to make the right decisions, constantly and consistently, and embrace the process."
Frazier focused on what it takes to be a leader and how to develop leadership skills. He said four key components make a leader: vision, commitment, passion and endurance.
"Everything starts with vision," he said, "it's a picture in your head where you can see exactly what's going to happen. You have to be intentional about trying to see where your future is. There are many distractions out there. They are distractions from where you want to go and you have to spend time away from all the distractions, take time to sit in peace and silence to see the vision. Everything starts with a vision. Who do you listen to? Every decision in your life, you can either do it not. Every decision I made was to accomplish this vision, which was to make the NFL."
Frazier then talked about the importance of commitment and sacrifice.
"As a business leader, one has to be committed to the business and build the business. You have to be self-accountable; you have to genuine, detailed, have self control, and be courageous. Don't try to be anybody else. The game of football can make you be someone else. Be yourself."
Passion was also one area that Frazier used in pursuit of his dreams, but when he got to the NFL, he found out other players were more passionate about the game than he was.
"I wanted to play for financial stability," he said. "There was no chance I was going to leave my mom and my sister. When I got to the league, I was amazed at how many players truly loved the game. I didn't love it like that. I was playing for financial stability. When I was here at CMU pursuing my goals, I was super passionate, probably the most passionate person who ever played on this field. My passion changed when I achieved my goals."
He talked about overcoming obstacles through endurance at Central Michigan.
"During my sophomore year I had three interceptions in the first two games, and I started walking around like I was someone special," Frazier said. "Then I started to do too much, lost focus, and ended up missing tackles. The coaches benched me toward the end of my sophomore season. I came into my junior year not starting. I played alright, didn't have nearly as many tackles. At one point, I thought my vision was done, I thought my dreams were over. But instead of running away from it, I stayed and faced the challenges head-on. There was no transfer portal at the time; college athletes had to stay at their schools. I could have transferred, but would have had to sit out a year, but my mom said, 'No we don't run; we finish what we start.'
"As soon as I made that decision, the coaching staff got fired. So now we've got a new coach, Coach (John) Bonamego. Amazingly, it took one year for me to put everything together during my senior season. It took me one year at Central Michigan to set myself up for life. You all have a chance. There's going to be things that happen on the field that are negative or don't work out the way you want them to: don't run from it. Leaders have endurance, they see the trials and tribulations as joys. It might hurt, but you can fight through it.
"You're always going to go through some things, in college, in the NFL, and in life. Real leaders have endurance. When I went through those things, it didn't faze me, I'm running through it. I see it as it is building up my character and building up my endurance."
Frazier also spoke about the business side of the NFL and then took questions from the Chippewas. He spoke about his last year in football when he was cut and spent 10 weeks out of the league until the Las Vegas Raiders picked him up. He said it was one of the toughest times in his life, but he needed that time because it prepared him for what came next.
Frazier also provided advice about what he calls F.A.M.: financial advisors, agent and mentor.
"It's important to build a good F.A.M." Frazier said. "In business or in life, it's not how much money you can make, it's about how much money you can keep. You have to get in the mindset of keeping your money. For an agent, you have to find someone who is in it for your interests. Then, having a mentor is key. Find someone who can help you with expertise in what you're looking for."
He also advised the current crop of Chippewas on the NFL draft, the NFL combine, training, and the choosing of an agent.
Central Michigan was Frazier's lone scholarship offer when he was coming out of Grand Rapids Christian High School.
As a freshman safety, he played in 13 games and registered 36 tackles and an interception. He played in 12 games as a sophomore, finishing with 67 tackles, three interceptions and five pass breakups. He made 58 tackles (34 solo) as a junior. As a senior, he became the starter at strong safety, led the team in tackles with 108 (74 solo), registered 4.5 tackles for loss, intercepted one pass, and blocked a punt.
He totaled 269 tackles (162 solo) in his CMU career. He made five tackles for loss, intercepted five passes with one returned for a touchdown, forced three fumbles, and recovered three fumbles. He earned All-Mid-American Conference Second Team honors which helped put him on the radar of NFL teams.
After graduating in 2016 from CMU with a 3.00-plus cumulative grade point average, Frazier was taken in the sixth round by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL draft (pick No. 212). He worked his way into a stable roster spot with the Cowboys, making an impact on special teams. In all, Frazier played a total of six years for the Dallas Cowboys (2016-19), Miami Dolphins (2020), Cincinnati Bengals (2021), and Las Vegas Raiders (2021). On July 29, 2022, Frazier announced his retirement from professional football.
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Frazier was speaking to the squad as part of Central Michigan's new Football Speaker Series, in which former players and coaches return to Mount Pleasant to talk about topics relevant to the CMU football team. Frazier is the second speaker following CMU Hall of Fame coaches Herb Deromedi and Roy Kramer.
A Grand Rapids native who played safety at CMU from 2012-15, Frazier said his time at Central Michigan set him and his family up for life. He met his wife, a former Chippewas cheerleader, in Mount Pleasant. They now have three children, with one on the way.
After completing his six-year NFL career in 2022, Frazier has found stability and consistency in his life. He founded a flourishing business, Built4It, which comprises three workout facilities in the Dallas area. He is CEO of his own company and has a variety of other business interests. He is enrolled in CMU online courses, working toward a master's degree in business administration.
He credits Central Michigan for helping get him to where he is now.
All of this he achieved from humble beginnings, the son of a single-parent household with very limited resources. His mother raised him and he overcame adversity with an unwavering belief in himself that he could achieve all of his goals. He took advantage of the academic help available to him at CMU as he focused on his ultimate goal: the ability to provide financial stability for his family.
His advice and his story hit home with the team.
"I was in your shoes," Frazier told the CMU student-athletes. "I went through the exact same things that you are going through. I want each of you to really see that part. No matter what, there are always going to be challenges, both ups and downs. You have to work through things and have goals. Every decision you make, you can either do it or not. Every decision I made was to accomplish my mission. I knew what I was going to do and where I was going to go. Every decision you make should be to put you one step forward to your goal.
"You earn respect. These are things I applied in my life to help me get to where I'm at. I'm 29 years old. I've got four kids, beautiful family, beautiful house. I lack nothing and I'm accomplishing everything I've wanted to accomplish at 29 years old. It's all because I implemented these things, and I knew I had a vision of where I wanted to go.
"This is what football can provide for you. You have to do it right. You have to make the right decisions, constantly and consistently, and embrace the process."
Frazier focused on what it takes to be a leader and how to develop leadership skills. He said four key components make a leader: vision, commitment, passion and endurance.
"Everything starts with vision," he said, "it's a picture in your head where you can see exactly what's going to happen. You have to be intentional about trying to see where your future is. There are many distractions out there. They are distractions from where you want to go and you have to spend time away from all the distractions, take time to sit in peace and silence to see the vision. Everything starts with a vision. Who do you listen to? Every decision in your life, you can either do it not. Every decision I made was to accomplish this vision, which was to make the NFL."
Frazier then talked about the importance of commitment and sacrifice.
"As a business leader, one has to be committed to the business and build the business. You have to be self-accountable; you have to genuine, detailed, have self control, and be courageous. Don't try to be anybody else. The game of football can make you be someone else. Be yourself."
Passion was also one area that Frazier used in pursuit of his dreams, but when he got to the NFL, he found out other players were more passionate about the game than he was.
"I wanted to play for financial stability," he said. "There was no chance I was going to leave my mom and my sister. When I got to the league, I was amazed at how many players truly loved the game. I didn't love it like that. I was playing for financial stability. When I was here at CMU pursuing my goals, I was super passionate, probably the most passionate person who ever played on this field. My passion changed when I achieved my goals."
He talked about overcoming obstacles through endurance at Central Michigan.
"During my sophomore year I had three interceptions in the first two games, and I started walking around like I was someone special," Frazier said. "Then I started to do too much, lost focus, and ended up missing tackles. The coaches benched me toward the end of my sophomore season. I came into my junior year not starting. I played alright, didn't have nearly as many tackles. At one point, I thought my vision was done, I thought my dreams were over. But instead of running away from it, I stayed and faced the challenges head-on. There was no transfer portal at the time; college athletes had to stay at their schools. I could have transferred, but would have had to sit out a year, but my mom said, 'No we don't run; we finish what we start.'
"As soon as I made that decision, the coaching staff got fired. So now we've got a new coach, Coach (John) Bonamego. Amazingly, it took one year for me to put everything together during my senior season. It took me one year at Central Michigan to set myself up for life. You all have a chance. There's going to be things that happen on the field that are negative or don't work out the way you want them to: don't run from it. Leaders have endurance, they see the trials and tribulations as joys. It might hurt, but you can fight through it.
"You're always going to go through some things, in college, in the NFL, and in life. Real leaders have endurance. When I went through those things, it didn't faze me, I'm running through it. I see it as it is building up my character and building up my endurance."
Frazier also spoke about the business side of the NFL and then took questions from the Chippewas. He spoke about his last year in football when he was cut and spent 10 weeks out of the league until the Las Vegas Raiders picked him up. He said it was one of the toughest times in his life, but he needed that time because it prepared him for what came next.
Frazier also provided advice about what he calls F.A.M.: financial advisors, agent and mentor.
"It's important to build a good F.A.M." Frazier said. "In business or in life, it's not how much money you can make, it's about how much money you can keep. You have to get in the mindset of keeping your money. For an agent, you have to find someone who is in it for your interests. Then, having a mentor is key. Find someone who can help you with expertise in what you're looking for."
He also advised the current crop of Chippewas on the NFL draft, the NFL combine, training, and the choosing of an agent.
Central Michigan was Frazier's lone scholarship offer when he was coming out of Grand Rapids Christian High School.
As a freshman safety, he played in 13 games and registered 36 tackles and an interception. He played in 12 games as a sophomore, finishing with 67 tackles, three interceptions and five pass breakups. He made 58 tackles (34 solo) as a junior. As a senior, he became the starter at strong safety, led the team in tackles with 108 (74 solo), registered 4.5 tackles for loss, intercepted one pass, and blocked a punt.
He totaled 269 tackles (162 solo) in his CMU career. He made five tackles for loss, intercepted five passes with one returned for a touchdown, forced three fumbles, and recovered three fumbles. He earned All-Mid-American Conference Second Team honors which helped put him on the radar of NFL teams.
After graduating in 2016 from CMU with a 3.00-plus cumulative grade point average, Frazier was taken in the sixth round by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL draft (pick No. 212). He worked his way into a stable roster spot with the Cowboys, making an impact on special teams. In all, Frazier played a total of six years for the Dallas Cowboys (2016-19), Miami Dolphins (2020), Cincinnati Bengals (2021), and Las Vegas Raiders (2021). On July 29, 2022, Frazier announced his retirement from professional football.
Follow Central Michigan Football: TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
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