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Article On Derrick Frost From Columbus Ohio Paper
I thought you all would enjoy a article from today's Columbus paper on Derrick Frost. 
Frost may have leg up on Browns’ punting job
Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
BEREA, Ohio — There once was a time Derrick Frost didn’t want to be a punter.
No, he wanted to play, hit some people. Punters only kicked. Or if he was destined to use his foot, he wanted to be a place-kicker. He was better at that anyway.
How things have changed.
Now Frost wants nothing more than to become the Cleveland Browns’ punter.
That goal is certainly attainable. All he has to do is beat out Ryan Dutton, which is likely, and kick well enough to keep Browns coach Butch Davis from plucking some unemployed veteran off the street or waiver wire.
The preseason game today against Detroit will be another challenge for Frost. He succeeded in his first two, wowing Davis with his performance in the practices with the Buffalo Bills and landing three of his four punts inside the Tennessee 20-yard line last Saturday in a preseason game.
"If I do what the coaches want me to do, I think I’ll be in good standing as far as making the team," Frost said.
If that happens, it will cap a career path he never would have envisioned a few years ago. He played quarterback and linebacker for his father in high school in suburban St. Louis. He also kicked, but he was much better as a place-kicker than punter.
"I was always really good at kicking but never really good at punting," he said.
Occasionally, he would boom a kick, but he didn’t work on his technique. Punting simply didn’t capture his interest.
"I’ve always been a guy who played football (as a position player)," he said. "You can take out your frustration on other people. When you’re punting, it’s just you and the ball, and it’s nobody else in the world. I had a lot of problems dealing with that early on. I was a little immature."
He went to Northern Iowa expecting to be the place-kicker. But Frost hurt his leg and the team turned to another kicker, Mackenzie Hoambrecker, who became an All-American now with the San Diego Chargers.
Frost’s attitude toward punting began to change when he attended a kicking camp and was told his 6-foot-4 height made him a better prospect as a punter than place-kicker.
When he left Northern Iowa, he was just hoping to get a shot at the NFL. No agent wanted to represent him, so his father sent out highlight tapes. Philadelphia took a flyer on him last May, but Frost lasted only 12 days. Baltimore claimed him and he spent the 2003 preseason with the Ravens, though he had little chance of unseating former Ohio University standout Dave Zastudil.
After Baltimore cut him, Frost waited four months before Cleveland signed him.
The Browns believe Frost has a chance to be an elite punter. He clearly has a powerful leg, once kicking a 75-yarder in college.
But it takes much more than that to succeed in the NFL. Hang time, the ability to control distance and a a quick release are also vital. Frost doesn’t have to be reminded that former Browns punter Chris Gardocki never had a punt blocked in 13 NFL seasons.
"I don’t worry about it, but I feel like everybody else is," Frost said.
In college, Frost said he had several punts blocked because he figured he had a slow release. But it turned out his college coaches had him stand 13 yards behind the line of scrimmage instead of the standard 15.
"When this NFL thing came about last year, teams said I had fast get-off times," he said. "I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ "
Gardocki, now with the Steelers, also was a master at flopping his punts deep inside opponents’ territory. Frost has a knack for that as well.
"Last year in the preseason, eight of my 23 punts were inside the 20," Frost said.
Browns coach Butch Davis said it’s premature to project a resolution to the punting situation. But he likes what he has seen so far from Frost.
Frost, 23, said he’s nowhere near his potential. He’s not as consistent as he wants to be and still is fine-tuning the mental parts of his game.
"Hopefully, at the end of the next three weeks I’ll still be here," he said.
Frost may have leg up on Browns’ punting job
Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
BEREA, Ohio — There once was a time Derrick Frost didn’t want to be a punter.
No, he wanted to play, hit some people. Punters only kicked. Or if he was destined to use his foot, he wanted to be a place-kicker. He was better at that anyway.
How things have changed.
Now Frost wants nothing more than to become the Cleveland Browns’ punter.
That goal is certainly attainable. All he has to do is beat out Ryan Dutton, which is likely, and kick well enough to keep Browns coach Butch Davis from plucking some unemployed veteran off the street or waiver wire.
The preseason game today against Detroit will be another challenge for Frost. He succeeded in his first two, wowing Davis with his performance in the practices with the Buffalo Bills and landing three of his four punts inside the Tennessee 20-yard line last Saturday in a preseason game.
"If I do what the coaches want me to do, I think I’ll be in good standing as far as making the team," Frost said.
If that happens, it will cap a career path he never would have envisioned a few years ago. He played quarterback and linebacker for his father in high school in suburban St. Louis. He also kicked, but he was much better as a place-kicker than punter.
"I was always really good at kicking but never really good at punting," he said.
Occasionally, he would boom a kick, but he didn’t work on his technique. Punting simply didn’t capture his interest.
"I’ve always been a guy who played football (as a position player)," he said. "You can take out your frustration on other people. When you’re punting, it’s just you and the ball, and it’s nobody else in the world. I had a lot of problems dealing with that early on. I was a little immature."
He went to Northern Iowa expecting to be the place-kicker. But Frost hurt his leg and the team turned to another kicker, Mackenzie Hoambrecker, who became an All-American now with the San Diego Chargers.
Frost’s attitude toward punting began to change when he attended a kicking camp and was told his 6-foot-4 height made him a better prospect as a punter than place-kicker.
When he left Northern Iowa, he was just hoping to get a shot at the NFL. No agent wanted to represent him, so his father sent out highlight tapes. Philadelphia took a flyer on him last May, but Frost lasted only 12 days. Baltimore claimed him and he spent the 2003 preseason with the Ravens, though he had little chance of unseating former Ohio University standout Dave Zastudil.
After Baltimore cut him, Frost waited four months before Cleveland signed him.
The Browns believe Frost has a chance to be an elite punter. He clearly has a powerful leg, once kicking a 75-yarder in college.
But it takes much more than that to succeed in the NFL. Hang time, the ability to control distance and a a quick release are also vital. Frost doesn’t have to be reminded that former Browns punter Chris Gardocki never had a punt blocked in 13 NFL seasons.
"I don’t worry about it, but I feel like everybody else is," Frost said.
In college, Frost said he had several punts blocked because he figured he had a slow release. But it turned out his college coaches had him stand 13 yards behind the line of scrimmage instead of the standard 15.
"When this NFL thing came about last year, teams said I had fast get-off times," he said. "I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ "
Gardocki, now with the Steelers, also was a master at flopping his punts deep inside opponents’ territory. Frost has a knack for that as well.
"Last year in the preseason, eight of my 23 punts were inside the 20," Frost said.
Browns coach Butch Davis said it’s premature to project a resolution to the punting situation. But he likes what he has seen so far from Frost.
Frost, 23, said he’s nowhere near his potential. He’s not as consistent as he wants to be and still is fine-tuning the mental parts of his game.
"Hopefully, at the end of the next three weeks I’ll still be here," he said.
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