National Signing Day is not what it used to be. With Early Signing Day in December, most players from the 2025 high school class are already on college campuses, but there were still a few significant signings on Wednesday, especially in the Big Ten.
Five-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood flipped his commitment from Alabama to sign with Michigan, but as far as Penn State is concerned, the biggest news was with in-state four-star edge rusher Zahir Mathis.
The 6-foot-6 defensive end was committed to Ohio State in the fall, but de-committed and was pursued with James Franklin and his staff. However, Mathis put off his decision until National Signing Day and chose Maryland over Penn State, Michigan, Virginia Tech, and UCLA.
By 247Sports Composite Rankings, Mathis is the 122nd-ranked player in the country and the third-best high school recruit in Pennsylvania. The Nittany Lions were able to flip tight end Andrew Olesh, the top player in PA, from his Michigan commitment on signing day, but the other four top-5 in-state recruits are heading to out-of-state destinations. Four-star QB Matt Zollers signed with Missouri where he’ll back up former Nittany Lion Beau Pribula next season, Mathis is heading to Maryland, four-star athlete Bradley Gompers followed former Penn State DC Manny Diaz to Duke, and linebacker Anthony Sacca is going from Philly to South Bend.
The Nittany Lions did still manage to sign five of the top-10 players in PA, but without dominating in-state recruiting, find themselves with the 15th-ranked class in the country and the fifth-best in the Big Ten. Ranking eighth in the conference are the Maryland Terrapins, with a surprisingly talented 21-player group descending upon College Park.
With the addition of Mathis, Mike Locksley’s class ranks 25th, the program’s best recruiting effort since the 2021 class, which was highlighted by five-star edge rusher Chop Robinson. Maybe Mathis will eventually end up in Happy Valley as Robinson did.