FRISCO, TEXAS — At the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl practices, UTSA standout cornerback Zah Frazier (6025, 189) feels he has performed well over the past few days but remains focused on improving his game.
“Yeah, and I tell you one thing, I live by Mike Tomlin: make the routine plays routinely. That’s something that I harp on every time I sit on the field that’s making the routine play routinely. That’s a Mike Tomlin quote right there that I live by.” Frazier told Steelers Depot.
Frazier has shown glimpses of his 2024 UTSA production at Shrine Bowl practices coming off a six-interception season. But he aims to improve his hand placement in press coverage. At just under 6-foot-3, Frazier’s length and physicality make press coverage his preferred style of play.
Building on the Tomlin quote, Frazier shared that he had great conversations with the team and would love the chance to play in Pittsburgh. He also opened up about his backstory as a three-sport athlete in high school. He played baseball, basketball and football all at a high level. After high school, Frazier went on to play JUCO football before UTSA.
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“The college is bigger, the team is bigger, everything is just bigger. I would say that was the biggest challenging thing is the amount of people that was there rather than JUCO. ‘Cause it’s way less people in JUCO than it is in university,” Frazier said regarding his time at UTSA.
Frazier credits his success at both the JUCO and Division I levels to his speed, which allows him to stay with receivers throughout their route or recover and make a play when beaten. His confidence in his speed, paired with the production and size, makes him the ultimate building block for a defensive backs coach.
He showed these building blocks this past season with UTSA where, along with his six interceptions, he had nine pass breakups, 24 tackles and a forced fumble in 12 games played. The forced fumble came in the Rice game, which Frazier believes was his worst overall performance this past year.
His most recent campaign, along with what he has shown in the Shrine Bowl, has drawn Frazier serious attention him as it was difficult for me to get him for an interview. Everyone wanted a few minutes with Fraizer to discuss his game along with the practice tape he’s displayed.
The Steelers have shown that they’re not scared of drafting Shrine Bowl players. Three of their seven 2024 draft picks were Shrine Bowl players. They even recently took a Day 3 flyer on Cory Trice Jr., who was in the 2023 Shrine Bowl.
Zah Frazier’s combination of size, speed, and production makes him a promising prospect, and his Shrine Bowl performance has solidified him as a player to watch as the draft approaches. With Pittsburgh’s history of selecting Shrine Bowl products, Frazier could very well find himself donning Black and Gold this April.
