Matt Campbell's Class of 2027 priorities become clear after Florida steals 4-star DL

Penn State football defensive lineman target Zahmar Tookes needed just one official visit to make his commitment official. Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, Tookes wasn't in Happy Valley over the weekend.

Tookes had four official visits lined up: Florida (May 28), Penn State (June 5), Nebraska (June 12), and Georgia (June 19). Head coach Matt Campbell has a busy weekend ahead of him and Tookes was one of the original 26 he was set to host. After Wednesday's announcement, only 25 will be on campus over the weekend.

The Gators landed the composite four-star defensive lineman. They beat out the Nittany Lions, Cornhuskers, and Bulldogs in the process.

Four-star defensive lineman Zahmar Tookes commits to Florida over Penn State, Georgia, and Nebraska

Rivals ranked Tookes as a three-star recruit, No. 680 nationally and No. 68 among defensive lineman in his class. The Rochester, N.Y. native is also ranked third from his state. He's also listed as the No. 250 overall recruit, No. 28 lineman, and No. 1 athlete from New York, per 247Sports Composite rankings.

In 2025, Tookes totaled 77 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, three sacks, and one forced fumble for the Brighton Bruins.

Before his official visit, the Gators weren't super relevant in Tookes' recruitment in comparison to the other top schools. The Nittany Lions and Cornhuskers went back-and-forth as to which were most likely to land his commitment. This was as of late April when the last Rivals prediction was logged.

Following the weekend, a new surge of expert predictions flooded in. Five of Rivals' insiders, including Chad Simmons and Steve Wiltfong, submitted a prediction in favor of Florida. The submissions came in starting on the morning on Sunday, May 31 and the last was logged on Tuesday morning.

The coaching staff and vision for Tookes on Florida's field is what helped the Class of 2027 prospect make his decision. He told On3 that he loved the defensive line staff and the position room's chemistry overall. He also added that he was intrigued by the Gators' want to capitalize on his versatility.

That's something Florida could offer that Penn State couldn't: using Tookes on the edge.

Penn State's Class of 2027 includes three defensive linemen: four-star Stanley Montgomery and three-star recruits Carter Blattner and Aniti Paiva.

The Nittany Lions only have one designated edge rusher visiting over official visit season (three-star Ifeanyi Emedobi), which makes it evident that they're not interested in prioritizing pursuing defensive ends in this cycle. Montgomery and Paiva were both recruited as defensive tackle targets, and Blattner is the only one of the trio that was sought out as a defensive end.

Campbell currently has older defensive tackles on his roster in redshirt seniors Siale Taupaki and Keanu Williams, redshirt junior Ty Blanding, and junior Dallas Vakalahi, but the depth is there to fill in those gaps once those players graduate or move on to the next level.

At defensive end, there's talent but no definite depth. It's a young room, excluding redshirt senior Ikenna Ezeogu. While that's a reason to not target or prioritize edge rushers in this recruitment cycle knowing there's a handful of edge rushers eligible to return after 2026, production from these players is still uncertain. Campbell will have to see how this younger room pans out for him in Year 1.

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