Frye is a powerful offensive lineman who patiently waited for an opportunity to start, finally earning the left offensive tackle assignment as a senior. The son of former Clemson and Kansas City Chiefs (1979-82) wide receiver, Stan Rome, Frye's final season was limited to 11 games due to a right elbow dislocation and ankle sprain that forced him to miss two entire games and parts of another.

While still a neophyte on the football field, Frye boasted impressive training-room numbers. Despite weighing 311 pounds, he was recently clocked at 4.77 in the 40-yard dash. He boasts a 485-pound bench press, 705-pound squat and a 294-pound power clean. Few collegiate offensive linemen have the leaping ability (34 inches) that this impressive youngster possesses.

Frye was listed as one of the top 50 seniors in the state by South Carolina Prep Football during his senior year at Myrtle Beach High School. He was picked to that publication's Class AAA All-State team, earned all-region honors and was named to the WPDE All-Zone team. He was also a member of the National Science Honors Society.

As a defensive end, Frye posted 74 tackles, 14 quarterback sacks and 18 stops for loss in 2000. He saw most of his action at tight end until his senior season -- his first year as a starter on defense, contributing 18 receptions for 220 yards and two touchdowns his final season. As a junior, he caught eight passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns. One of those scoring receptions came as time expired to send a game into overtime.

When Frye enrolled for the second semester at Virginia Tech in 2001, he was the first Myrtle Beach High player to sign with a Division I school in five years. He participated in spring drills at defensive end, but did not play with the team in the fall. He spent the 2002 season competing on the scout team as a defensive end after originally working on the offensive line as a right tackle during spring drills. He posted the second-best 20-yard shuttle on the team (4.31) and clocked 4.76 in the 40-yard dash during spring testing.

In 2003, Frye earned Iron Hokie (top conditioning performance) honors during the offseason. He turned in a 445-pound bench press and a 600-pound back squat and had the best vertical jump (33½ inches) and 40-yard dash time (4.85) among the offensive linemen. He did not see action with the varsity, but did play in two JV games at right tackle.

The following season, Frye set an offensive-line position record with a 690-pound squat. He played in four games as a reserve offensive tackle, logging 62 offensive snaps and 46 on special teams in 2004. In 2005, he appeared in nine games as a reserve offensive tackle. He earned Super Iron Hokie honors in the weight room and was the recipient of the Excalibur Award -- the top honor in Tech's strength and conditioning program -- for the second time.

In his final season with the Hokies, Frye earned a starting job at left tackle. He suffered a dislocated right elbow in the season opener vs. Northeastern, missing the following game vs. North Carolina. He returned to action vs. Duke wearing a brace to protect the injury. He would also sit out the Kent State game with an ankle sprain. In 11 starts, he would produce only 13 knockdown blocks.

Positives: Rare-sized athlete with a barrel chest, wide shoulders, good upper body thickness, long arms and an athletic lower frame, with muscular definition and body mass throughout. … Incredibly quick for a player his size (4.77 in the 40-yard dash). … Powerful athlete with a 485-pound bench press and a 705-pound squat. … Very light on his feet, showing the agility to redirect with ease of movement. … Uses those feet efficiently to mirror edge rushers, showing good explosion and pop on contact. … Hard worker on and off the field, taking well to hard coaching. … Despite limited experience, he has good field vision and awareness. … Explodes off the ball with a flat back, striking with force and uses his arms effectively to fit, sustain and wall off. … Very flexible athlete with quick feet and good balance in his kick slide. … Does a nice job of getting his hands up quickly to lock on, steer and gain leverage over the defender. … Very aggressive at the point of attack and generates very good explosion when running to the second level, shifting his weight properly to strike with force in space. … Has the field awareness to stalk and neutralize the second-level defenders and is quick to cut down linebackers working in space. … Has a hand punch that generates good movement coming off the snap. … Despite his size, he stays low in his pads with a strong leg base, which makes it very tough for defenders to rock him back on his heels. … Works well with the guard on combo blocks, keeping his head on a swivel while looking for secondary targets to hit. … Has good punch-and-kick slide agility, recoiling his hands to land on his target often. … Shows good balance in his knee bend. … Uses his long arms to flash extension in attempts to separate.

Negatives: Very raw, experience-wise, with only 11 games of starting experience under his belt. … Has good balance on the move, but perhaps due to inexperience, he struggles taking proper angles and will then lunge in attempts to rectify. … When this happens, he will fall off his block and struggles to recover. … Appears to be a bit top heavy, especially when punching wildly; he will over-extend (needs to learn how to keep his hands closer to his frame). … Has decent lateral agility, but will get too narrow in his base and trip over his feet when trying to get wide and combat the edge rushers. … Needs to keep his feet better sliding out to neutralize pass rushers. … Active with his hands, but when he gets too wide with his placement, he leaves himself exposed to cross-over face action.

Compares To: Jordan Gross, Carolina Panthers -- Gross is a much more polished product than Frye, but like Gross, Frye will likely have a better pro future at right tackle than on the left side. Both base their game on a blend of exceptional foot quickness and raw power. Frye has yet to develop proper hand technique and will sometimes look like Bambi staring down the headlights of a truck on the highway, but it is evident the physical talent is there. He did not get to start until his senior year, and it was marred by two injuries that cost him time. With patient coaching, someone could unearth the talent he has hidden.

Posted 14 quarterback sacks and 18 tackles for loss in 2000 as a defensive end for Coach Scott Early … Saw most of his action at tight end until his senior season -- his first year as a starter on defense … Had a total of 74 tackles for the season … Also contributed 18 pass receptions for 220 yards and two TDs on offense … Listed as one of the top 50 seniors in the state by South Carolina Prep Football … Picked to that publication's AAA all-state team … Earned all-region honors and was named to the WPDE All-Zone team … Caught eight passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns his junior year … One of those TD receptions came as time expired to send a game into overtime … Was the first Myrtle Beach High player to sign with a Division I school in five years … A member of the National Science Honors Society.

Brandon Lee Frye … Born 1/23/83 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. … Son of Brenda Epps and Stan Rome … His father played football and basketball at Clemson and went on to play with the Kansas City Chiefs … Majoring in finance.