In recruiting news, of the best high school players in the 2025 Class who Penn State wants and Ohio State had, but lost, has posted an update on his recruitment.
Zahir Mathis, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound DE from Phillyโs famous Imhotep Charter High School, announced that he will not be signing his letter of intent during the early signing period.
I will not be signing the first signing period !!!!
— Zahir Mathis (@ZahirMathis5) December 2, 2024
This shouldnโt come as a surprise.
Mathis announced his de-commitment from Ohio State two weeks ago, and not many expected him to pick a new school before the early signing period, which begins Wednesday and runs through Friday. But itโs still significant.
PENN STATE WANTS HIM
Earlier this fall, Blue-White Illustratedโs Sean Fitz gave some insight into Penn State recruiting Mathis.
โMathis visited Penn State twice this summer,โ Fitz wrote, โwith one of those being an official visit in July. He hasnโt been in a rush to do much of anything, but after that trip there should be more clarity. It sounds like the Buckeyes want to keep him, but Deion Barnes has the Nittany Lions on semi-equal footing as of now. That will be one to watch closer as the calendar turns to November.โ
Barnes has already put together a solid resume with not even two full seasons completed as Penn Stateโs defensive line coach. Something like that could be quite appealing to Mathis.
WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSESโฆ
Photo by Jayden Woodsโ Twitter Account: Jayden Woods
Penn State just lost Jayden Woods, a four-star EDGE who flipped to Florida last week.
Could he have flipped because of NIL, something to do with Floridaโs plans for him on the field or just a simple change of heart? Perhaps. But maybe Penn State knows another EDGE could be comingโฆ
Weโll find out for sure soon enough but not during the early signing period.
The late signing period begins Feb. 5, 2025.
