No. 1 player in PA explains commitment to Missouri over Penn State football

It was a challenging day on the recruiting trail for the Penn State football team. 2025 recruiting class member Matt Zollers made his commitment official and chose to play his college football at Missouri instead of Penn State. The initiative for Nittany Lion coaches is to keep the top players from Pennsylvania in PA and to play for Penn State. However, James Franklin and his staff missed on an elite quarterback in their backyard. After making his commitment, Matt Zollers explained why he chose the Tigers over the Nittany Lions.

Top player in PA explains commitment to Missouri over Penn State

Matt Zollers is a name that has been buzzing around the recruiting scene for many months. Several teams made late pushes for the rising prospect from Royersford, PA, including three SEC schools. Georgia, Missouri, and Alabama all started recruiting Zollers late in his process yet the Tigers ended up being the school he chose to play at.

Zollers is a four-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class. He is the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania and the No. 5 QB in the nation according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Following his commitment, Johnny McGonigal of Penn Live asked Zollers why he chose Missouri over Penn State.

How the Nittany Lions stack up with the top 10 prospects in PA in 2025

While it’s unrealistic that James Franklin and his coaching staff will secure all of the top prospects in PA it’s an important statement to make on the recruiting trail. They’ve missed on the top two prospects in the state Matt Zollers (Missouri) and Zahir Mathis (Ohio State). But they have a commitment from the No. 3 player in the state Alex Tatsch.

According to On3, Penn State football is trending for Andrew Olesh, Jabree Wallace-Coleman, Maxwell Roy, and Lex Cyrus. While they have lost Anthony Sacca (Notre Dame) and Cam Smith (Duke). The Nittany Lions also find themselves in a battle for the son of Penn State legacy Michael Carroll, as well.

At the end of the day, you can’t win them all but Penn State is in great shape with the top players in the state. However, they need to secure hard commitments from the players that they are trending towards sooner rather than later.

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