Published Jul 26, 2024
Penn State welcomes back Ohio State DE commit Zahir Mathis to campus
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Dylan Callaghan-Croley  •  Happy Valley Insider
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After hosting borderline five-star defensive end prospect Zahir Mathis for an official visit last month, the Penn State Nittany Lions are hosting the Imhotep Charter standout once again on Friday, Happy Valley Insider has confirmed.

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The four-star prospect committed to Ohio State in Janury over the Nittany Lions and over two dozen other offers but James Franklin and defensive line coach Deion Barnes, a Philadelphia native have continued to chip away at Mathis.

Last month, the Nittany Lions were able to get Mathis on campus for an official visit, a big step in his recruitment for Penn State. The visit went very well sources familiar with Mathis's recruitment told Happy Valley Insider following the visit.

Notably, Mathis in his recruitment has yet to take an official visit to Ohio State and the expectation currently is that the four-star prospect will do so in the fall.

The trip for Mathis comes as Deion Barnes and the Nittany Lions have been putting together a ton of momentum on the recruiting trail. In their 2025 recruiting cycle, the Nittany Lions over the last month have landed commitments from four-star defensive lineman Max Granville (DE), Jayden Woods (DE), Randy Adirika (DT), as well as three-star defensive end Cortez Harris.

On Thursday, Granville, a Rivals250 prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle reclassified to a 2024 prospect and signed with the Nittany Lions. He's expected to be on campus in time for Penn State's practices to start next week.