Frederick’s moment to shine

One of he more perplexing careers of a Washington Husky football player was that of WR Charles Frederick. He was blessed with tons of physical ability, but he never really realized his full-potential because of homesickness and injuries. Earlier this past week, Frederick was named Co-Rookie of the Year for the AFL after helping to lead the Kansas City Brigade to the playoffs.

Frederick, who shared the award with Tamp Bay Storm QB Brett Dietz, led all first-year players in receptions (115), yards from scrimmage (1,518), first downs (100), all-purpose yards (2,129), rushing attempts (50), rushing yards (133), rushing touchdowns (14), and scoring (246 points on 41 TD). He was also named to the 2007 All-Rookie team and set a single-game franchise record for rushing yards (59 on March 4 vs. Chicago), tied the single-game franchise and rookie record for TD receptions (5 on May 20 at New York), and tied the single-game franchise record and set the single-game rookie record for rushing TD (3 on March 4 vs. Chicago and March 16 vs. Dallas).

Even with all the accolades being thrown at him now, Frederick still remembers his tumultuous final season at the University of Washington.

“I pulled my hamstring and it set me back,” Frederick recalled. “It was almost like I was going to give up on it, but my dad told me to stick it out so I rehabbed my leg and got it stronger.”

Frederick wasn’t drafted by an NFL team, so he signed with the Spokane Shock of Arena 2 just to stay active in the game.

“It was nice because it was just like being back home in Seattle,” Frederick said with a laugh. “I mean, it rains, but it doesn’t rain that much and it’s a cool place to be.”

Shortly after his season ended he was called up by the Brigade who had just hired his head coach as their offensive coordinator.

“That was cool knowing the offense that they were going to run,” Frederick said. “The key for me was after the championship game I really didn’t take a break. I worked really hard at staying in shape and was just trying to get better and it paid off.

“It’s not hard to get used to playing Arena Football. It’s kinda like basketball. A lot of guys come to us from the NFL and they can’t get it down because it’s so different, but I really took to it.

“I love the boards and the nets and it’s just a lot of fun. The pace of the game is fast and there’s a lot of intensity.”

Now with two seasons of Arena Football under his belt, Frederick is hoping for a chance with the NFL.

“My hamstring is great,” Frederick said. “I feel good and I’m getting a lot stronger and I’m just ready to go again.

“Hopefully I get a workout with somebody, but if I don’t then I’ll come back to Kansas City and I’ll do my best to put up better numbers than I did last year.”

Even though he’s not around Seattle much, the relationships he formed at Washington keep him in touch with what’s going on around the Puget Sound.

“I talk to Rich (Alexis), Reggie (Williams) and Kalif (Barnes) a lot,” Frederick said. “Right now Reggie’s in Jacksonville working out and Rich is in St. Louis. I give Reggie a hard time about working hard because this is his contract year. We talk almost every day.”

Now he has a new thing to talk about – his Rookie of the Year award.