While a commitment date is not yet in the books for four-star defensive lineman Zahmar Tookes, Penn State football's push for the Class of 2027 recruit is paying off.
On Saturday, Tookes revealed his top five schools on social media with the Nittany Lions included. Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida, and Syracuse are the other four programs on his list.
Tookes is ranked No. 250 nationally and No. 28 among defensive linemen in his class, per 247Sports. He's also the No. 1 recruit from New York.
In 2025, he logged 77 tackles and 10 tackles for loss, which was second and third most for the Brighton Bruins, respectively. Tookes also had four quarterback hurries, three sacks, and one forced fumble. He ranked No. 1 on his team in hurries and sacks, tying for most on the latter.
The Bruins' 11-3 season came to an end in the Class A state championship game.
2027 DL @datboymar09 (Zahmar Tookes) the #1 ranked player in NYS has realesed his FINAL FIVE- including @CuseFootball! @FranBrownCuse and @vkehres will be pushing to make a HUGE splash and keep the local kids HOME!#11as1 #DART #OWNNYS #COMMIT2CUSE pic.twitter.com/5iEFBNX7Ab
— Nick Aquino (@nickaquino0629) May 16, 2026
Penn State makes top five for four-star defensive lineman Zahmar Tookes
Penn State was one of the first four teams that offered Tookes a scholarship. Since then, he was in Happy Valley for an unofficial spring practice visit and scheduled an official visit. Tookes has his visit scheduled over the weekend of June 5.
His other official visits are with Florida (May 28), Nebraska (June 12), and Georgia (June 19). The Volunteers and Orange are the only teams who don't have official visits in the books with Tookes, according to 247Sports.
Per Rivals' predictions, Penn State is leading the five squads to land Tookes with a 35 percent chance. Behind the blue and white are Nebraska (22.1 percent), Georgia (15.3 percent), Florida (12.8 percent), and Syracuse (6.7 percent).
The most recent prediction came on April 26, pushing the Nittany Lions above the Cornhuskers, who had a 42.6 percent chance before Penn State took the lead. It's been consistently ranking No. 1 and No. 2 throughout Tookes' recruitment since the end of February — the only team appearing in one of those top spots throughout that time frame. Syracuse and Florida got knocked out by Nebraska rising in the ranks starting in April.
Despite maintaining their spot at the top, head coach Matt Campbell and defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe need to be wary of Tookes' final teams in consideration. The Gators and Cornhuskers, in specific, have pushed extremely hard for the defensive lineman. Despite the Orange being the closest to Tookes, it's the fellow out of state programs that Penn State needs to keep an eye on and out-recruit.
The Nittany Lions' No. 6 ranked Class of 2027 currently includes four-star defensive lineman Stanley Montgomery, who is their highest-ranked recruit so far. They also have three-star defensive lineman Carter Blattner committed.
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