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Arizona State Player Wants Revenge In CFP After Texas Told Him To 'Quit Football'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jordan Sigler | Last updated Dec 18, 2024 1:07 PM ET

The No. 5 Texas Longhorns are set to play the No. 12 Clemson Tigers on Saturday at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The winner of the contest will face Arizona State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. One Arizona State player hopes to face the Longhorns in the CFP quarterfinal round.

Sophomore defensive tackle Zac Swanson committed to Texas as a three-star recruit before the 2022 season. He'd stay two years with the Longhorns before transferring to ASU before the 2024 season.

During an interview posted by 247 Sports on Monday, Swanson said it would be a "dream" scenario for him to play against Texas in the CFP after the Longhorns coaching staff told him that he'd never be good enough to play for them.

"Exactly what was said is, 'if you want to stay in Texas, you might as well quit football and just go to school here,'" Swanson said. "So lot of motivation there for me."

ASU DT Zac Swanson, a Brophy Prep product who spent two years at Texas, on a possible Longhorns matchup:

"That's my dream...That's a team that kicked me out...They said if you want to stay at Texas, you might as well quit football and just go to school here." pic.twitter.com/DBKCK6cR1w
— SunDevilSource.com (@SunDevilSource) December 16, 2024

Swanson didn't appreciate the tone in which Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian's staff broke the news to him.

"It was probably the worst thing that was ever said to me, and it was just said so carelessly, like they didn't care that, like it was changing my entire life, like two years there, like I made friends, like, I have like a girlfriend there everything, and then they tell me that and expect me to get up and leave the next day," Swanson said.

Swanson, who grew up in Phoenix and played high school football for Brophy College Preparatory, said that the best thing that could have ever happened to him was transferring back to his home state to play for the Sun Devils.

Swanson made one total tackle in his career at Texas. The six-foot-four, 290-pound athlete recorded 16 tackles and .5 sacks in the 2024 regular season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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