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FSU football newcomer Camdon Frier doesn't want to be compared to his father, Matt Frier
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- FSU football newcomer Camdon Frier doesn't want to be compared to his father, Matt Frier
Florida State football head football coach Mike Norvell was extremely straightforward when recruiting wide receiver Camdon Frier.
"The first real meeting I had with coach Norvell was after a camp and my dad was out of the room and he said 'Listen, I can't offer kids because of their dads. I'll lose my job. I want you for you. I have a lot of respect for your dad and he helped build this place, but I don't care about that,' Frier said.
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"That really meant a lot to me. I went home, thought about it and I committed not long after that."
The FSU newcomer, who was a 3-star prospect out of Columbia High School in Lake City, Florida is the son of legacy player Matt Frier .
He was the captain of the Seminoles during the 1993 season, the same year FSU won its first national championship.
Frier's uncle, Todd Frier, was a defensive back on the 1999 national championship teas as well.
Creating his own path
Columbia Camdon Frier gets his team up after the second inning. Lake City Columbia hosts Tallahassee Rickards in District 2-5A baseball tournament at Columbia High School in Lake City, FL on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Columbia defeated Richards 11-1 in five innings. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]
While Frier spoke about the respect he has for his father and the advice and coaching he has given, Frier made it clear early on that he wanted to be recruited for him and not for his dad.
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He had always wanted to play for FSU, but as he got older, he realized that he wanted to create his own path there.
"Growing up, I always thought I wanted to come here, but ninth grade hit and I wanted to do my own thing," Frier said. "I was starting to get recruited a little bit and I went to my dad's bedroom and told him I wanted to do my own thing, and he respected me for it."
"I went through the whole recruiting process and coach Norvell and coach [Ron] Dugans jumped on me first. They were real with me and made me feel like I was wanted."
Frier has always been in some sort of shadow of his father's. Matt was a superstar at Suwannee High School in Live Oak totaling 220 receptions for 3,688 yards and 41 touchdowns during his career with the Bulldogs and helping them to back-to-back state championships in 1987 and 1988.
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He was inducted into the FHSAA Hall of Fame in 2019 and was named one of the top 100 FHSAA football players of all time. However, all that never put any pressure on Frier when his time came. It motivated him to be better.
"Dad was one of the top receivers coming out of high school in the nation and half his records in the FHSAA still haven't been broken," Frier said. "Coming behind that, I feel like there's a little bit of pressure, but it made me want it more and to be better than him.
"I feel me and him are very different when it comes in between the lines and our game, but at the same time, it just motivated me and he wants me to be better than him."
Frier played his first two seasons at Suwannee before transferring to Columbia. He made a substantial impact his first season in Lake City, recording 538 receiving yards and five touchdowns to lead the Tigers' receiving effort.
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Learning from his father
Surprisingly, receiver wasn't a position Frier played a lot of until high school. Up until his freshman year, he played more on the defensive side of the ball but wanted to try something new when he came to high school.
That's where his dad came in, helping him adjust and working with him to help him achieve his dream of playing Division I football.
"We had a lot of work to do that summer," Frier said. "Every Friday night, we're staying up until one or two in the morning talking about the game. He was like my secondary wide receiver coach and everything he's told me I've taken into consideration and molded my game after that."
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Now in Tallahassee, Frier is ready to make a name for himself at FSU, and his coaches understand that. There's still an appreciation for what his father did as a Seminole and what he's done to help Frier, but one of his biggest goals is to continue "to do his own thing."
"I love my father, but at the same time one of my main goals here is to do my own thing," Frier said. "I love Florida State, I love Tallahassee and there's no place I'd rather be. Guys know that and coaches know that. We talk about Pops very regularly, but they know I want to do my own thing and be my own guy."
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football's Camdon Frier wants to be more than his father's son
