Caleb Houser
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BOOM!!! Buckeyes land four-star edge rusher Zahir Mathis for their 2025 recruiting class
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Zahir Mathis | 247Sports
Zahir Mathis is a Buckeye!
The start of 2024 has been surprisingly good for the Ohio State football program and the drum of good news beats on as on Wednesday, Jan. 10, four-star edge rusher Zahir Mathis announced that he was committing to play for Larry Johnson and the Buckeyes. The Philadelphia native is the sixth player in OSU’s 2025 class and pushes them up to the No. 6 team in the recruiting rankings.
Considering the way that the 2023 season ended, the Buckeyes needed their fortunes to change, and with recent transfer portal wins and recruiting pledges, it sure seems like they have been able to secure some pretty strong positives to head into the offseason.
Watch Zahri Mathis’ commitment to Ohio State:
The No. 37 player nationally, Mathis is the fifth-best edge rusher in the class and the top player from Pennsylvania per the 247Sports Composite grades for 2025. Taking to his Twitter account to announce his decision this afternoon, the news comes as less of a surprise to Ohio State fans thanks to rumors and crystal balls that have surrounded Zahir’s name the last few days. At any rate, this latest commitment moves the Buckeyes up to the nation’s current sixth-ranked class in the country with just six commitments, proving yet again Ohio State’s ability to bring in quality over quantity. They currently have the No. 3-ranked average player ranking.
A 6-foot-6, 225-pound athlete, Mathis really started to trend toward the Buckeyes earlier this week when he saw three different 247Sports crystal ball predictions for Ohio State. The prototypical edge rush body type, this addition has to give both the staff and fans a sigh of relief as the last couple of classes have been a little light in terms of the number of elite defensive end recruits. Of course, 11 months before Mathis can officially sign, one would be excused for being concerned about holding onto him until the Early Signing Period.
That of course is always something to worry about in the new era of college football, but for now, this pledge has to be a major cause for celebration across Buckeye Nation. Regardless of what comes of Larry Johnson’s status on the staff moving future, the Buckeyes are showing that they still have things very much under control and there’s still a ton of excitement surrounding the near future of Ohio State football.
Odds are, LJ will still be in Columbus for the next year, and whether or not Ryan Day brings on another defensive line coach to sure up the succession plan, recruiting at that position certainly isn’t slowing down any time soon.
A Philadelphia native, the Buckeyes have done well when it comes to recruiting the neighboring state; and stealing a stud from Penn State territory is never something to undersell. The 2025 class is off to a fantastic start and Zahir is the latest to join its ranks, but as the momentum continues, this class could very well just be getting started.
Just a look at what Mathis will bring, take a look at Zahir’s sophomore campaign below. Safe to say that te Buckeyes are getting an incredible prospect who still has tons of room to grow and increase his stock.
Watch Zahir Mathis working out at an Ohio State camp this summer:
Continue reading...
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Zahir Mathis | 247Sports
Zahir Mathis is a Buckeye!
The start of 2024 has been surprisingly good for the Ohio State football program and the drum of good news beats on as on Wednesday, Jan. 10, four-star edge rusher Zahir Mathis announced that he was committing to play for Larry Johnson and the Buckeyes. The Philadelphia native is the sixth player in OSU’s 2025 class and pushes them up to the No. 6 team in the recruiting rankings.
Considering the way that the 2023 season ended, the Buckeyes needed their fortunes to change, and with recent transfer portal wins and recruiting pledges, it sure seems like they have been able to secure some pretty strong positives to head into the offseason.
Watch Zahri Mathis’ commitment to Ohio State:
Buckeyes land big-time edge rusher for 2025
The No. 37 player nationally, Mathis is the fifth-best edge rusher in the class and the top player from Pennsylvania per the 247Sports Composite grades for 2025. Taking to his Twitter account to announce his decision this afternoon, the news comes as less of a surprise to Ohio State fans thanks to rumors and crystal balls that have surrounded Zahir’s name the last few days. At any rate, this latest commitment moves the Buckeyes up to the nation’s current sixth-ranked class in the country with just six commitments, proving yet again Ohio State’s ability to bring in quality over quantity. They currently have the No. 3-ranked average player ranking.
A 6-foot-6, 225-pound athlete, Mathis really started to trend toward the Buckeyes earlier this week when he saw three different 247Sports crystal ball predictions for Ohio State. The prototypical edge rush body type, this addition has to give both the staff and fans a sigh of relief as the last couple of classes have been a little light in terms of the number of elite defensive end recruits. Of course, 11 months before Mathis can officially sign, one would be excused for being concerned about holding onto him until the Early Signing Period.
That of course is always something to worry about in the new era of college football, but for now, this pledge has to be a major cause for celebration across Buckeye Nation. Regardless of what comes of Larry Johnson’s status on the staff moving future, the Buckeyes are showing that they still have things very much under control and there’s still a ton of excitement surrounding the near future of Ohio State football.
Odds are, LJ will still be in Columbus for the next year, and whether or not Ryan Day brings on another defensive line coach to sure up the succession plan, recruiting at that position certainly isn’t slowing down any time soon.
A Philadelphia native, the Buckeyes have done well when it comes to recruiting the neighboring state; and stealing a stud from Penn State territory is never something to undersell. The 2025 class is off to a fantastic start and Zahir is the latest to join its ranks, but as the momentum continues, this class could very well just be getting started.
Just a look at what Mathis will bring, take a look at Zahir’s sophomore campaign below. Safe to say that te Buckeyes are getting an incredible prospect who still has tons of room to grow and increase his stock.
Watch Zahir Mathis working out at an Ohio State camp this summer:
Continue reading...