T. J. Frier (born August 17, 1977) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who for the

Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also t ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL), the

Memphis Maniax The Memphis Maniax were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was part of the XFL (2001), XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. Home gam ...

of the XFL, and the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

. He was also a member of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

Early life and college

T. J. Frier was born on August 17, 1977, in

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

. He attended Dyer County High School in

Newbern, Tennessee Newbern is a town in Dyer County, Tennessee, Dyer County, Tennessee. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the town population was 3,313. History The first settlers came to the area in the 1840s. Owen Philly is credited with erecting ...

. Frier was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic C ...

of the

from 1995 to 1998.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

, Frier signed with the

on April 22, 1999. He was waived in September 1999 before the start of the season. He re-signed with the Seahawks in February 2000, and was allocated to

to play for the

. Frier played in all ten games for the Thunder during the

2000 NFL Europe season The 2000 NFL Europe season was the eighth season in 10 years of the American football league that started out as the World League of American Football. World Bowl 2000 World Bowl 2000 (also referred to as World Bowl VIII) was the eighth cha ...

, recording 20 tackles, three sacks, and one pass breakup. He was released by the Seahawks on August 27, 2000. Frier played in eight games, starting three, for the

of the XFL in 2001, posting five tackles. Frier was signed by the

of the

(AFL) on April 11, 2001. He appeared in seven games for the Avengers, totaling two solo tackles, one assisted tackle, and one fumble recovery. He was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

during his time in the AFL as the league played under

ironman rules The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...

. He was released by the Avengers on November 2, 2001.

Personal life

Frier's brother Damon played collegiately for the

Wyoming Cowboys The Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Wyoming, located in Laramie, Wyoming, Laramie. Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 17 ...

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frier, T. J. Living people 1977 births American football defensive tackles Memphis Tigers football players Seattle Seahawks players Berlin Thunder players Memphis Maniax players Los Angeles Avengers players Players of American football from North Dakota Sportspeople from Grand Forks, North Dakota Dyer County High School alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen