Zabie a high priority for the Florida Gators coaching staff

Linebackers coach Randy Shannon spent the majority of his day on Tuesday recruiting for the Florida Gators.

Offensive lineman Stephan Zabie (6-5, 290, Austin, TX. Westlake) was one of those prospects who received from Shannon on Tuesday.

“Coach Randy Shannon was at my school,” Zabie said. “I talk to Florida like everyday. They’re one of my top schools. They’re really coming after me hard and showing me that they want me.”

Zabie who has had to sit out his senior year due to an eligibility issue has become one of the targets in the country for several teams including the Gators.

“I talk to everyone of the coaches, literally everyone of them talks to me,” he said. “They’re all just making me feel like I’m a priority to them. The head coach even messages me and asked me how my day is going and stuff like that.”

Offensive line coach Mike Summers has been assisting Shannon in Zabie’s recruitment and sharing a message with the lineman.

“Coach Summers just makes me feel like a priority and lets me know that I’m a priority,” Zabie said of his talks with Summers. “He wants me come down to Florida and play for him. He said he wants me to play early and he said he needs guys to come in and make an early impact.”

Like most players, Zabie isn’t going to shy away from Summers’ challenge to play early in college.

“It’s great opportunity for me and of course I want that opportunity,” he said. “Anywhere I go if they ask me to play early then I’m going to want too. That’s what I’m going to school for, I want to play football.”

During those talks from Summers, Zabie has built up a good bond with the veteran coach.

“We have a great relationship,” Hayes said of his relationship with Summers. “He knows that I have talent and they know what my strengths are. Things really good between us.”

Zabie who has double digit offers says he hasn’t narrowed things down yet but did offer up his feelings on the Gators.

“My interest in Florida is very high, they’re one of my top schools,” Hayes said of his interest in the Gators. “That says a lot about my interest in them because I haven’t been able to visit them. I’m planning to visit them soon so I can check everything out.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Zabie looks like a guy that will get out of the state of Texas and is someone that I think the Gators can land. Zabie sees the early playing time at Florida and is also being made a priority early on. Zabie is ineligible to play this year since he played as an 8th grader in New Jersey and used up his four year of eligibility that Texas allows for varsity football.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

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