Frost

IMBLER — It is happening again at the Frost household in Imbler.

The phone calls asking for available dates for a visit. The emails asking for additional information on game stats and updated highlight reels.

The difference this time is the player being sought after by collegiate football teams is the youngest of the Frost brothers, Justin.

Frost is currently playing his final year of football for the Imbler Panthers. At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, the lineman from the 8-man ranks is receiving some interest from some big-name college teams. He recently returned from a visit with Idaho State, has made a trip to Eastern Oregon and spent some time with Oregon State.

“The renovation they just completed at Idaho State was pretty impressive,” he said of the $14 million project that included a number of enhancements of Holt Arena, the longtime home of Idaho State football.

The current Panther is undecided on his plans to be a Beaver, a Mountaineer or a Bengal.

Other teams are also showing interest, all with plans to make a large player even larger.

“Everyone says I need to put on more weight to play line in college,” he said. “I will probably redshirt my freshman year wherever I go and work on putting on 30 to 40 pounds.”

This type of attention is not new to the Frost family. Frost’s brother, Wyatt, currently plays for Western Oregon University.

“We are just a big family,” Frost said. “My other brother, Blake, was the biggest of us all. When everyone was home, it was nothing to go through three or four gallons of milk a week.”

Frost has spent his entire educational career in Imbler, starting with kindergarten.

Once the football season concludes, his transition to Panther basketball is immediate, clogging up the middle as a post player.

“We went to the state playoffs last year and did not graduate anyone,” he said. “With nine seniors returning this year, we have high expectations of this season.”

Also part of the school’s FFA program and National Honor Society, Frost has plans for the future involving business, engineering or construction management. He also has plans to pass on his knowledge of football.

“I would love to coach somewhere,” he said. “This game has done a lot for me and my whole family and I would like to pass that on to others.”

With Frost’s stature and size, it is difficult to think of him as the baby of the family. The youngest of the boys gives credit to both his parents and his brothers for his success both on and off the football field.

“I have watched my brothers play football all my life,” he said. “A lot of who I am comes from seeing them do it when I was little.”

“It is great to see a player from a small school recognized for his accomplishments,” Imbler head coach Dustan Adams said. “What is even more impressive is Justin is a young senior. He does not even turn 18 until almost graduation so he still could be much larger and an asset to any college team. He is a great young man.”

Until that final decision is made, Frost is now busy with preparing for Thursday, Oct. 5, showdown against Cove and a trip to Adrian the following week and a final league game against Union on Oct. 20. The league standings show only Crane, Imbler’s lone loss of the year, with a better record.