COLUMBUS, Ohio – While most people are looking how to drop pounds, Ohio State offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere is looking how to add pounds, or at least keep the weight on that he has struggled so hard to put on since arriving at Ohio State last summer.
The former five-star offensive lineman out of Tampa (Fla.) had all of the tools coming out of high school but there was one big question about the talented player, could he make weight and stay the size that a player needs to be successful on the line in the college game?
Petit-Frere joked about his last name meaning little brother and having the nickname of Petite, even though he is anything but that at 6-foot-5, close to 300 pounds and sporting a size 17 shoe. But it has been a struggle to hit the weight that he wants to keep and more importantly, that the coaches want to see him at.
“It has been so hard,” Petit-Frere said. “I have a really fast metabolism and I have been eating like 8,000 calories a day and it is basically like six meals a day, huge meals, waking up in the middle of the night and eating something else. It is just a constant battle.”
The talented lineman did not enroll until summer of 2018 and missed out on a potential head start that some of his classmates picked up by getting to campus in time for winter semester. This marks NPF’s first spring practice of his career and he can see why so many players are opting to graduate early and start their collegiate experience earlier in terms of getting a leg up.
“I can tell how big coming early can be,” Petit-Frere said. “I felt like I was still learning a lot during the fall and everything. Once winter happened, you got more experience. Coming in early, a lot of the younger guys in my class had a chance to go through the winter and it makes them a man and understand how to perform here at this program and learn what it takes go through everything.”
Petit-Frere joined the team around June and knew he had a long way to go to hit a lot of the goals that the coaches had set for him and that he had set for himself. First and foremost, filling out on a big frame.
“Realistically before I came in, I was at 268 (pounds) but I drank a little bit of water because I did not want to look light in front of coach Mick (Marotti),” Petit-Frere said. “I was like 271 when I first walked into the building that first day. Now I am like 295 (pounds).”
295-pounds seems to be the goal wait at this point of the process and is still a number that NPF struggles with. There are still things in place to make sure that he is working on putting on good weight, but at this point, keeping weight on is just as important.
“I have been eating good, making sure I have been having vegetables and stuff like that but really at the end of the day it is like, ‘Look, whatever has the most amount of calories,’ and all. Though it make look disgusting…”, Petit-Frere said before he was interrupted and asked if he hits the junk food.
“No, I don’t eat Twinkies,” Petit-Frere joked.
Petit-Frere has to do all of this with somewhat of a limited menu.
“I am actually kind of a picky eater, so that is the funny thing,” Petit-Frere said. “I have to eat 8,000 calories with me being picky about certain foods.”
Most people cannot fathom what an 8,000-calorie day may look like.
NPF gave some insight with what his menu looked like on Sunday.
“I woke up and I had a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich and I had bacon, kielbasa, egg and cheese sandwich,” Petit-Frere said. “I had some cereal as a snack. I ordered some Buffalo Wild Wings and I had like 12 wings in total and I had one of their mac-n-cheese bowls that they have from there. Then, for dinner, I had some Five Guys, two burgers. Then I started drinking some shakes at night because I was a little light, I wanted to make sure that I made weight today.”
Petit-Frere is locked in a position battle with Branden Bowen and Josh Alabi for a starting tackle position alongside Thayer Munford. With Munford not going through spring drills this season, that gives all of these players an opportunity to see more reps. All of NPF’s have been coming at the right tackle position. He feels that he can play either side if called upon, however.
Once the whole question of making and keeping weight rights itself, Petit-Frere believes that he can make an impact regardless of who gets the staring nod.
“At the end of the day we are all here just to make sure we get each other better and we find a way for us to win some games and get each other better,” Petit-Frere said. “(Branden) has been teaching me a lot. I am very excited to compete against him.”
