California Golden Bears

Texas Football Recruiting: Stephan Zabie spurns Texas on National TV

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:04 p.m. ET

Fansided, James Caldwell/FanSided via Hook'em Headlines

Prized offensive lineman Stephan Zabie announced on National Signing Day that he is leaving the state of Texas for California.

Stephan Zabie was one of Texas Football’s big remaining targets for the 2017 recruiting class. However, Zabie announced Wednesday morning on ESPNU that he is signing with UCLA and not Texas.

It was a blow to Texas’ national perception since Zabie is from Austin and he decided to leave the state. The decision came just a few moments after Tom Herman was interviewed on ESPNU as part of National Signing Day coverage.

Texas Could Have Used Another Big-Time OL like Stephan Zabie

Earlier this week, we identified Offensive Line as one of the key areas the Longhorns need to fill in the 2017 class.

On Monday, coveted offensive lineman Sam Cosmi added his name to the list.

On Wednesday, Zabie had a chance to join Cosmi and Derek Kerstetter. However, Zabie decided to leave the comfort zone of Austin and test himself out west.

Overall for Texas, the recent football series with UCLA meant giving a top California school a foothold in the state. The unfortunate result was losing a top recruit like Zabie.