Fritz was born on November 21, 1957, in Southeastern Ohio. He graduated from Ironton High School, where he played football and earned three varsity letters. In 1975, he was honored as the Southeastern Ohio Athletic League Co-Player of the Year and received the Associated Press Ohio Class AA Lineman of the Year award.
From 1976 to 1979, Fritz played football for the Ohio State Buckeyes under coaches Woody Hayes (1976-1978) and Earle Bruce (1979). He earned varsity letters in each of those years and was recognized as an All-Big Ten selection in his final two seasons.
As a senior, he achieved consensus All-American status. During his senior year, the Buckeyes had an impressive 11-0 regular season record but suffered a close 17-16 loss to No. 3 USC in the Rose Bowl.
Beyond his on-field achievements, Fritz gained attention for his involvement in an incident that occurred off the field. At the conclusion of the 1978 season, he intervened to restrain Coach Hayes after Hayes punched Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman during the Gator Bowl.
While television footage and photos suggested that Hayes also punched Fritz, Fritz was quoted in the Milwaukee Journal stating that Hayes was merely trying to free himself and did not intend to harm anyone.
Following his tenure at Ohio State, Fritz was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 10th round (No. 277 overall) of the 1980 NFL draft.
