‘This kid can play’: Did the Cougars find a diamond in the rough?

Reggie Frischknecht has been underestimated many times, yet his stock continues to rise.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound receiver from Manti, who played at Snow College last year before enrolling at Weber State, now expects to battle for playing time at BYU after the departure of All-American kick returner Keelan Marion to Miami.

Interestingly, after Marion entered the transfer portal, BYU then signed Frischknecht, who led junior college football in touchdown receptions (14). The Cougars later added former four-star Stanford receiver Tiger Bachmeier.

In the BYU camp, one may call it a two-for-one.

Snow College coach Zac Erekson, a former star receiver at Springville High, Dixie State and then BYU, knows the receiver position well. Frischknecht caught his eye as an athletic three-sport athlete at Manti High, and he decided to watch the under-the-radar 3A receiver his senior year.

“But before I called anybody, Utah, Utah State and BYU called, so did Hawaii. Louisiana Tech was actually on a plane that night to come see him.”

“By the third or fourth game, it was obvious that Reggie had the talent and he could be a P4 receiver.”

Erekson believes he was the top receiver in the state of Utah his senior year, but didn’t receive the attention he deserved. He then got him to play the 2024 season for Snow College.

“A lot of people didn’t think the 3A competition he played in was very high,” said Erekson. “We went to Reggie’s first game his senior year against Snow Canyon High and we knew right then, this kid can play.

“We watched him three other times that year and in each game we saw him, aside from the film we watched, he was the best player on the field, no matter who they were playing or when they played.”

Manti won the state championship that year.

“It was obvious to us, it was a no-brainer to get him to play for us at Snow. His father is a Snow College alumnus who went on to play at Washington State and had a couple of NFL camp invites. I think injuries derailed his career.”

Just three days into Snow’s summer camp, it was obvious Frischknecht could start.

Erekson said he didn’t know exactly how good Frischknecht could be, but it was funny and surprising after Game 6 a coach told him over the headset that a pass Reggie caught was his first regular reception that wasn’t for a touchdown.

“Every catch he had in every game to that point was a TD. He had a phenomenal year. He led the nation in touchdown catches,” said the coach.

Erekson told Division I coaches in his circle of influence that they had to take a look at Reggie.

“He is 6-4, 200, he can run, he can catch and he can jump.”

But with things the way they are with the transfer portal, high school and junior college players take a back seat to upperclassmen, proven players in four-year universities.

“People kept overlooking him,” Erekson said.

Erekson said Frischknecht had a secret sauce. He grew up participating in gymnastics.

“I think it gives him a secret skill set, the way he can control his body, his flexibility, the way he moves in space, and can go up in traffic and get a ball,” Erekson said. “I think when you are a gymnast all your life you can do some stuff body-wise that others can’t do.”

Frischknecht said Snow College was an easy choice since it was blocks from his house.

“It was a great experience for me. My receivers coach, Neil Pau’u was a former BYU player as well. He was a big part of my development. I was raw out of high school. Neil was very big on my footwork, the quickness side of the receiver position,” Frischknecht recently told ESPN The Fan radio.

Recruiters didn’t want to pull the trigger, and then as Snow entered spring semester in 2024, he got a few FCS offers. Weber State came in and offered him, and he accepted and enrolled for winter and spring semesters.

Erekson said he doesn’t want to speak for Weber State coaches, but from what he learned from what transpired in Ogden, Frischknecht quickly became the best receiver in camp. “He called me and told me he believed he could play at a higher level — that he should bet on himself.”

Erekson warned him that the grass isn’t always greener when making a move. He’d come out of spring as WR1 and was in a great situation.

“This is something you need to talk to your family about and discuss. I told him I thought he was a P4 guy, but that doesn’t mean if you jump in the portal that’s going to come to fruition.”

Frischknecht decided to go ahead and put his name in the transfer portal after discussing it with his coaches at Weber State, said the Snow coach.

Frischknecht entered the portal and asked Erekson to help make calls in his behalf.

“But before I called anybody, Utah, Utah State and BYU called, so did Hawaii. Louisiana Tech was actually on a plane that night to come see him.”

Erekson believes those recruiters must have had some questions answered about what Reggie could do.

On a trip to BYU, he was offered and accepted.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to come to Provo,” Reggie told his coach.

In the radio interview, Frischknecht explained: “The environment at BYU was like nothing I had seen before in a football program. Sitting down with the coaches, they were completely amazing.

“BYU is somewhere I’ve always wanted to play. I went to a ton of games growing up. Even last year, we’d finish our Snow games then buy tickets.”

Erekson bets Frischknecht can run a 4.5 in a laser-timed 40.

“His coach here, Neil Pau’u, says he reminds him of him, but risking Neil getting mad at me for saying it, Reggie might be faster than Neil was.”

A guy who can play wide or slot, Erekson said Frischknecht’s size makes him a perfect target in the red zone and he is also fast enough to run the jet sweep, a play BYU’s offensive coordinator likes to run.

“He can also return kicks,” adds Erekson.

Erekson said his staff was able to game-plan Frischknecht in red-zone scores regularly.

“He caught a receiver screen, a tunnel screen and took it 45 yards for a touchdown. He catches digs, coming across the middle, he is able to maneuver in traffic and he’s a lot faster than people give him credit for. He is an every-down guy.”

Late spring football fodder?

This is a curious one to feed the need.

BYU receiver Robbie Frischknecht poses with members of his family during his official recruiting visit to BYU. | BYU Photo