Steve Zabel, former OU football All-American and NFL vet, dies at 68

Former OU football All-American Steve Zabel died this week at age 78, the school confirmed on Friday, June 26.

Zabel was a rare two-way star in college football during his time with the Sooners (1967-69).

In 1968, OU football coach Chuck Fairbanks made a choice that would dramatically change tight end Zabel’s career.

The Sooners started off slow despite a No. 5 preseason ranking, with a blowout loss to Notre Dame in the season opener and a loss to Texas two weeks later. His defense was struggling, so Fairbanks went to Zabel with a new challenge — he wanted him to play tight end AND linebacker.

“He said, ‘Steve, when you go play pro football, you’ll be either at tight end or at linebacker, and we’ve proven we can’t outscore people,'” Zabel told The Oklahoman in 2020. “‘We want you to play both ways.'”

Steve Zabel formed friends for life playing football

The Sooners went on to finish the season 6-1 in the Big Eight with Zabel playing both ways.

He earned second-team All-America honors from the Newspaper Enterprise Association after catching 19 passes for 237 yards and a career-high four TDs. He also punted 58 times.

Two years later, he was the sixth overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Zabel played the majority of his 10-year NFL career at linebacker, where he started 95 games for the Eagles, New England Patriots and Baltimore Colts.

A Minnesota native who graduated from Thornton (Colo.) High School and spent his freshman year of college at New Mexico Military Institute, Zabel arrived in Norman in 1967 and promptly became the Sooners’ starting tight end, catching 23 passes that year for 343 yards and three touchdowns, including a game-winning 30-yard score late in a 14-10 home contest against Kansas that helped propel OU to the Big Eight title, an Orange Bowl appearance (beat No. 2 Tennessee 26-24) and a final No. 3 AP ranking. The Sooners finished 10-1 overall and 7-0 in conference play.

Zabel returned to Oklahoma following his playing career and was a mainstay in the OKC area with his non-profit and charitable work. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

A memorial service is set for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7, at the Life.church in Edmond.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Steve Zabel, former OU football All-American and NFL vet, dies at 68