REPORT: No. 1 player in PA, Ohio State commit to take official visit with Penn State football

Just when it appears that a door is closed, the unthinkable can happen. The unthinkable in this scenario is the Penn State football team having the opportunity to host the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania in the 2025 recruiting class. On Friday, reports confirmed that Zahir Mathis one of the top edge rushers and a current Ohio State commit will take an official visit with the Nittany Lions this weekend.

Recruiting Zahir Mathis seemed like a hopeless effort. The four-star edge rusher from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) is one of the top prospects in the 2025 recruiting class. Mathis ranks as the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania, the No. 2 edge, and the No. 35 prospect in the cycle according to Rivals.

On Friday morning, Dylan Callaghan Croley of Rivals confirmed that Mathis will take an official visit to Happy Valley this weekend. The news is a bit shocking as Mathis made his pledge to Ohio State on January 10, 2024. Just as it seemed the Nittany Lions would miss on several top prospects in the 2025 recruiting class in the Keystone State, they reopened a door to potentially land the nation’s top defenders.

Can confirm that #PennState will be hosting @Rivals No. 35 overall prospect, DE Zahir Mathis this weekend for an official visit.

Mathis committed to Ohio State in January. https://t.co/1gOGo2dBoc

— DylanCallaghanCroley (@RivalsDylanCC) June 21, 2024

Reviewing the 2025 recruiting class for Penn State football

It seemed that the Nittany Lions hit its stride on the recruiting trail over the past few weeks. Penn State earned three commitments in two weeks from four-star talent. Antonio Branch (Miami, FL), Jahmir Joseph (Montvale, NJ), and Daryson Dixson (Santa Ana, CA) are three defensive backs who intend to play college football at Penn State in 2025.

However, on Friday the Nittany Lions suffered a decommitment from one of the top prospects in the 2025 cycle. Four-star running back Alvin Henderson decided to flip his commitment from Penn State to Auburn according to Hayes Fawcett of On3. With Henderson’s decision, the 2025 recruiting class for Penn State has dropped from No. 12 to No. 14 overall in the country.

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