Penn State gaining ground to flip Ohio State commit Zahir Mathis

This past week Penn State received surprising news when Max Granville reclassified and the 2024 four-star edge rusher will now be reporting to Happy Valley and joining the team for the 2024 season. Should Penn State opt to use Granville in any capacity, they can have him play in four games without burning his redshirt, all the while gaining some in-game experience. The question now is with the reclassification of Granville, what does that mean for the 2025 recruiting class?

This past weekend, four-star prospect and current Ohio State commit Zahir Mathis was back on Penn State's campus for its annual "Lasch Bash." This is exactly one month after Mathis took an official visit to the campus on June 21. Penn State and James Franklin have been trying to attempt to flip the in-state prospect for some time and it appears they have no intentions of giving up on him despite his current commitment to the Buckeyes.

Per ESPN and Rivals, Mathis is the top-ranked player in the state of Pennsylvania and a commitment from him would certainly be huge for Franklin and the Nittany Lions after missing out on some of the top prospects in the state for the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Again, some may say and see this as Mathis simply taking advantage of the recruiting process, but it has been reported his official visit to Penn State went well. Defensive line coach Deion Barnes has done a remarkable job once more on the recruiting trail, reeling in four-star prospect Jayden Woods and securing his first commitment at the defensive tackle position from Florida prospect Randy Adirika.

With Max Granville's reclassification, a commitment from Zahir Mathis would bolster the defensive line for the 2025 class. With the work and success Deion Barnes has been having on the field and recruiting, along with Penn State's continued pursuit of the talented in-state product, the Nittany Lions could potentially be too good of an opportunity for Mathis to pass up.