Top-100 EDGE Zahir Mathis commits to Ohio State
COLUMBUS — Much has been said about Ohio State’s ability to land an elite edge rusher on the recruiting trail. That has been silenced in the 2025 cycle for now.
Four-star Philadelphia (Pa) Imhotep Institute EDGE Zahir Mathis has committed to the Buckeyes. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound edge rusher picked Ohio State over Florida State, South Carolina, Texas and Tennessee.
Mathis is the No. 68 overall prospect, the No. 5 EDGE and the No. 2 Pennsylvania prospect according to On3. Those numbers adjust slightly in the On3 Industry Rankings to No. 55, No. 7 and No. 1, respectively.
Zahir Mathis is a major win on the recruiting trail for Ohio State after what’s been an unprecedented tough run at edge rusher recruiting. Veteran defensive line coach Larry Johnson has struggled to keep up the production on the trail that many are accustomed to seeing. But the seasoned position coach is, so far, back on track in 2025 with Mathis.
And that’s a recruitment that started in the summer at a one-day recruiting camp in 2023.
That one-day camp in Columbus is where Mathis and Ohio State really kicked things off between each other. He spent his entire day within arms reach of veteran defensive line coach Larry Johnson where Johnson’s bag of defensive line secrets opened up just a bit. The experience on the practice fields at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center almost six months ago made quite an impression on Mathis.
“It was great to get out here on the campus and everything like that with ‘Larry Legend,’” Mathis told Lettermen Row. “Had a perfect time. He coached me up, did me justice, everything like that. Had some good reps on 1-on-1s, ups and downs and everything like that.”
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He continued about Johnson.
“I learned a lot,” Mathis said. “He helped me out with my technique. I had bad footwork, so he helped me out with that. Stance-wise, helped me out. He helped me get off the ball faster and everything like that.
“So it was pretty great.”
Mathis released a top-five on Halloween and of course, the Buckeyes made the cut. He hasn’t been back to Columbus since that June visit, but now that he’s committed, expect that to change during spring ball.
Ohio State still has the top-rated class in the Big Ten and the No. 2 class in the country. Mathis makes the class six now and joins five-star Houston (Texas) North Shore cornerback Devin Sanchez, four-star Baltimore (Md) St. Frances Academy cornerback Blake Woodby and three-star Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban linebacker Eli Lee on the defense.
The Buckeyes on offense is made up of four-star Bellefontaine (Ohio) quarterback Tavien St. Clair and four-star Cocoa (Fla) wide receiver Jayvan Boggs.
