2024 SOTU Awards: Rookie of the Year, CB O.J. Frederique

A clear winner for this award

As we continue with the SOTU Awards, we give a Freshman All-American his flowers: CB O.J. Frederique, Rookie of the Year!

A 3-star recruit who started his HSFB career at Deerfield Beach (FL), Frederique transferred to national powerhouse Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas for his senior season. Upon his arrival with the perennial championship program, Frederique quickly elevated himself to the top of his position group, even with other, more highly ranked players already there.

Miami got Frederique’s commitment and thought they had a gem of a player. This is a time where the internal evaluation was much, MUCH higher than that of recruiting sites who follow and rank HSFB players. Miami was very bullish on Frederique, and were excited to get him on campus.

Upon his arrival on campus in May (St. Thomas students aren’t allowed to graduate early due to their academic requirements and structures), Frederique immediately started getting rave reviews from Miami coaches and players alike. With a rebuilding secondary for the 2024 season, it became quickly clear that Frederique would be in the conversation for significant playing time as a true freshman.

After a stellar showing in fall camp, Frederique was a top of the rotation player at cornerback. Though he didn’t start a game until Week 3 against Ball State, Frederique was a familiar face on the field in every game Miami played in 2024. His combination of height, arm length, athleticism, and skill were needed on the Miami defense that other wise struggled in the secondary.

While nearly every other player int he secondary was getting bombed or missing tackles game after game, Frederique was a solid and consistent performer through the season. His stellar coverage dissuaded opposing teams from even throwing in his direction, seeking out the easy to exploit targets that were in many other places in Miami’s defensive backfield.

Even with those numbers, Frederique wasn’t perfect in 2024. He struggled in the regular season finale at Syracuse, with their physical receivers winning at the catch point repeatedly. Even with that being the case, Frederique was still the standout player in Miami’s secondary overall.

For his freshman season, Frederique finished with 30 tackles, 1 TFL, 7 PBUs, and 1 interception. When you combine that with the above-embedded stat that Frederique was among the lowest-targeted pass defender in the conference, and thereby the lowest targeted player on Miami’s defense, you can clearly see the immediate and elite impact he had in his first season in college.

For his efforts, Frederique was named the runner-up for ACC Rookie of the Year. Clemson LB Sammy Brown won that award. Frederique was also named honorable mention All-ACC for his performance in the 2024 season.

Though there were other young players who made impacts for Miami in 2024 — players like RB Jordan Lyle, JUCO transfer OT Markel Bell, and S Zaquan Patterson — Frederique had the biggest and most notable impact by far.

With everything that Frederique showed in the 2024 season, the sky is the limit for what he can provide in the future, and the player he can become down the line.

Congrats, O.J.! You deserve it!

Go Canes